Hammersmith and Fulham police are deploying live facial recognition technology across the borough, it has been revealed.
The Metropolitan Police are utilising the technology, with deployments already noted in Shepherd's Bush and at Notting Hill Carnival, following positive reception from residents last year. The council is currently exploring the introduction of this technology, with an investment of £3.2 million allocated for advanced CCTV technologies, including AI modules for facial recognition. This significant investment was approved in September 2025 and also covers knife detection and aggressive behaviour recognition.
During a Community Safety Board meeting on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, Superintendent Grewal confirmed the ongoing use of the technology. The council operates approximately 2,300 CCTV cameras across the borough, with continuous investment in advanced technologies to enhance proactive detection.
Justin Hunt, Interim Assistant Director of Community Safety, explained that the council is working through the necessary legal processes. The scrutiny related to live facial recognition within on a national basis is very significant, and therefore it is a work stream for us to work through that with the providers of the software,
he stated. And we will need to have we will need to achieve a level of assurance if we were to introduce it. So that that ultimately is the basis on which we need to make sure that it is introduced in a compliant way, and that will need to be kept under review.
The meeting agenda and public reports pack for the Community Safety Board meeting on July 14, 2026, can be found at Agenda frontsheet 14th Jul 2026 and Public reports pack 14th Jul 2026 respectively.
