Police are collecting data of everyone who passes in front of the camera without our knowledge or consent. It is being used without proper legal oversight.

by Hellcom

49 comments

  1. Saw them the other day in Kingston. Not sure what the point is when the people they’re eventually going to be looking for are ballied up anyway.

  2. You don’t need people’s knowledge or consent to film in public

  3. Is it to identify people who verified their age on Reddit with a selfie?

  4. Nice that they are keeping the sun out of our robot overlords eye.

  5. Are these the ones that would absolutely only ever be used to spot known offenders at football matches?

  6. No consent needed – you’re in public.  Do you consent to every CCTV camera you pass? 

  7. The little cap on the camera makes it look like a South Park Canadian.

  8. This country is descending into techno authoritarianism. Scanning all our faces whilst in public just in case we might be bad, the government deciding what content we can and cannot view on the internet, the police trawling through social media posts looking for ‘crimes’, and I could go on.

    I really don’t like how authoritarian our country has become.

  9. With the number of crimes in that area, this is much needed.

  10. It doesn’t even matter because the police aren’t capable of doing anything about petty crime due to underfunding and this is just a novelty. Funnily in the UK, incompetence is what protects us from government overreach

  11. So are a million CCTV cameras on the streets and in stores. Along with video doorbells and home CCTV cameras. ANPR tracks your movements in your car across the country. You carry a phone that broadcasts your location constantly and the various apps tell many different companies all about you. 

    But when the police take a photo, check it against a database to catch criminals, then delete it if there’s no result, that’s a problem? 

  12. Sorry, I was having a wank in public and needed government verification

  13. If you have ever been outside of your house, bought a phone contract, shopped in a shop, used a credit or debit card, withdrawn cash (had a bank account!), used a search engine, used social media (hello!) – everything is data. All of it is used for something. Stress less.

  14. Funny how you didn’t take any photos of the massive placards stating that there is a facial recognition operation going on..

    There has also been lots of legal challenges regarding facial recognition and policing and judges have stated that is part of preventing and detecting crime, try do some research:

    https://www.met.police.uk/police-forces/metropolitan-police/areas/about-us/about-the-met/facial-recognition-technology/

    The technology detects people that are actively wanted, personally I don’t like sharing my streets with wanted criminals nor does the vast majority of the cities population.

  15. Personally I don’t see the problem but some people are entitled to believe the conspiracies so have at it.

  16. I’m not a fan of the Met but who says the data is being stored? They’re probably running it against a database to catch criminals like ANPR .

    Also I’m guessing the iPhone/Android you typed this on has a much more accurate data log of your face anyway?

  19. They used to (or still do) the same thing in King’s Cross Station I believe. As you are coming up the stairs from H&C/circle/metropolitan lines.

  21. This is fine because it is inconceivable that the UK will ever elect a government that will use this capability for ill. You only need rights if bad people are in charge.

  22. What impresses me, is that there is a camera every three inches, filming 24/7, but the police still can’t find the shoplifters/delinquants that attack businesses around here.

  23. What do you mean without legal oversight? That the police are breaking the law or that the law should be different?

  24. Honestly I’m all for it. Crime in London is out of control so if this helps I’m all for converting all CCTVs into smart facial recognition cameras.

  26. OP, you collected data of everyone you captured with your camera without their knowledge or consent.

    ![gif](giphy|IZXY9YWeZeZZC)

  27. > without our knowledge

    Well, except for the huge sign saying “LIVE FACIAL RECOGNITION IN PROGRESS”

  28. The data isn’t stored if you read the fine print it’s deleted straight away once it’s verified you’re not wanted. If you read into the science into it it’s also very good at detecting actual wanted offenders.

  29. Wait until you discover what apps like TikTok are doing…

    Edit: basically any app that’s uses your selfie

    – that’s being said, very different in the Police setting.

  30. This has been in the works for a long time and providing the data is handled appropriately, it would be really beneficial for solving crimes. The caveat is, the government can have access to the data if they want to and I don’t trust them.

  31. So do we want more police or less police? I’m confused

  32. Police carching criminals and scammers at work using technology, good

  33. Granting more and more power to the state / Government has never turned out well throughout the whole of modern political history.

    Power cannot and should not be trusted at a whim and HAS to be free to be challenged, critiqued, and held to account, as power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

    The more dystopia technology the Government and state uses (ie the police, who are riddled with scandals and bad actors) the worse the potential consequences for the common citizen.

  34. I don’t understand how it’s allowed given the ECHR has previously ruled against Russia’s use of facial recognition on Article 8 and Article 10 grounds.

  35. Are we still trying to shame China for being a police state?

  36. Probably cross referencing the new wank database they have

  37. Seen this in Hammersmith months ago. They testing Chinese software

  38. And these bastards get upset when you film them!

  39. A. It’s not without knowledge as there’s a sign there

    B. It’s a public space, no one needs consent or “proper legal oversight”

    C. Stop being a fucking gammon

  40. Ahh one step closer to the government knowing my every insignificant move. Never wanted my freedom tbh…

  42. Been around since pre Covid I remember they would park one of these facial recognition vans on fenchurch street at morning rush hour.

  43. I bet this is being used for revenue generating police work like fining people for littering, parking, and speeding violations rather than for catching dangerous criminals.

  46. The slipperiest of slopes, yet no one seems to be that bothered.

  47. It’s like they read 1984 and decided to make it a reality

  48. What a waste, the scumbags all use balaklavas anyway. Now here’s an idea… go get them, you know who they are, where they are and who’s stuff they’ve stolen

  49. CCTV but smarter, okay whatever. I’m a lot more concerned about the online censorship.

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