The use of facial recognition technology has been contentious (Image: PA)

Ministers have revealed that they are seeking to further expand the use of facial recognition by police to combat crime in towns and cities, and are consulting the public on how it should be utilised in the development of new laws. A key element of Labour's Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee , facial recognition has been under scrutiny for several years .

The technology has been credited with assisting in 1,300 arrests by the Metropolitan Police, finding more than 100 registered sex offenders breaching their licence conditions, as well as a number of Northumbria Police arrests "that would not have been possible" otherwise in the aftermath of the Sunderland Riots.

A 10-week consultation is being launched that

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