Greater Manchester Police were able to make two arrests for breaches of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders in Stockport thanks to Live Facial Recognition (LFR) equipment.

The equipment scans people's faces with alerts triggered for pre-registered reasons – such as when people are wanted, missing or subject to an order.

On Wednesday (12 August), officers were deployed to Stockport town centre with LFR as part of the local neighbourhood team's wider work addressing problems in the area.

Greater Manchester Police said: "Specific operations – including the ongoing ASB-smashing Operation Rimini – has resulted in dozens of arrests and countless charges over the last year, while vital work with partners has helped address the core roots of many problems."

During the four hour deployment, thousands of faces were scanned, with four triggering alerts.

Images of faces that do not trigger alerts are deleted almost instantly.

All future deployments can be viewed on the Greater Manchester Police website.

The four alerts triggered on Wednesday were all for people with Sexual Harm Prevention Orders in place – with two men – aged 38 and 41– subsequently being arrested on suspicion of breaching the conditions of their respective order.

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LFR has been used at events across Manchester from concerts to football matches and is utilised in town centres to create an extra layer of security for local people.

Images of faces that don't trigger alerts are deleted in seconds (image via Greater Manchester Police)

Inspector Jason Holmwood, from our Stockport district, said: "Our Live Facial Recognition deployment in Stockport on 12 August delivered positive results, with two arrests made and a significant amount of constructive engagement with members of the public.

"The technology is a valuable tool that helps us locate wanted individuals and protect our communities, while officers remain on hand to explain how it works and answer any questions people may have.

"It was particularly encouraging to see the positive response from residents, businesses and visitors throughout the day.

"These conversations are an important part of ensuring transparency and building public confidence.

"LFR supports our neighbourhood policing activity by helping us target those who pose the greatest risk, while allowing officers to focus their time on keeping people safe and preventing crime."