Man fined after covering his face during Romford police facial recognition trial

The facial recognition technology which was used by police in Romford. Photo: @bbw1984 @bbw1984

The trial took place throughout yesterday outside of Romford station in South Street.

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Signs in Romford warning the public about technology being trialled. Photo: Met Police Signs in Romford warning the public about technology being trialled. Photo: Met Police

A man was fined £90 during the use of facial recognition technology by the Met Police in Romford town centre yesterday, after he covered his face using his jumper.

The Met confirmed to the Recorder that the man - who officers claimed was acting suspiciously - was stopped by police, and that after being stopped they said he “became aggressive and made threats towards officers.”

He was then issued with a penalty notice for disorder as a result.

However Silkie Carlo, 29, director of campaign group Big Brother Watch - told the Recorder: “He just pulled his jumper up over the bottom of his face, put his head down and walked past where the camera was.

“Lots of people would make an objection about being filmed.

“After that he was stopped by officers and he told them ‘This is England, I don’t want to be filmed.’

“We spoke to lots of people who objected to being filmed, and they came from all walks of life.”

Eight people were also arrested during the Met’s deployment of the live facial recognition technology - three of which were as a direct result of the facial recognition technology identifying individuals wanted by police for violence offences, and the other five arrests, were proactive arrests as part of the wider operation.

The trial was set to take place again today (Friday, February 1) however due to adverse weather forecasts, the trial will be rescheduled for another date.

If you were the man who was fined please contact our reporter Liam Coleman on liam.coleman@archant.co.uk or on 0208 477 3826