Overview

• The Metropolitan Police reported that its LFR vans have identified and arrested 1,035 individuals between January 1 and June 20, 2025.
• Among those detained, 93 were registered sex offenders and over 100 were accused of serious offences against women and girls, including rape, stalking and domestic abuse.
• Each mobile unit uses seven rooftop cameras to scan passersby against a watchlist of about 16,000 custody images, deleting non-matches instantly and flagging alerts for officer review.
• Operations have revealed that roughly 20 percent of people subject to court-ordered restrictions were found breaching their conditions and arrested on the spot.
• Civil liberties groups including Liberty and Big Brother Watch argue that without dedicated legislation, mass biometric scanning risks infringing rights and are calling on Parliament to introduce clear safeguards.