The Deputy Mayor asked where and when it is anticipated the use of this technology in York and North Yorkshire might be useful, what the crime and antisocial behaviour picture is at those times and in those places at present and how it is proposed this technology would help.

 Where will the technology be deployed?

Regulations from the Home Office and College of Policing determine that LFR can be deployed overtly in public spaces, but only in specific locations where:

• there is a defined policing purpose,
• The use of LFR will be intelligence-led, targeted, and proportionate, to support operational policing.

North Yorkshire Police have confirmed that they may use LFR to:

• Locate and arrest people wanted for criminal offences.
• Prevent people who may cause harm from entering an area (for example, fixated threat individuals, persons subject to football banning orders).
• Locate people about whom there is intelligence to suggest that they may pose a risk of harm to themselves or others (for example, stalkers, terrorists, missing persons deemed at increased risk).
• Support targeted preventative policing tactics in areas where intelligence suggests violent crime may occur.
• Examples of places for deployments may take place include events, transport hubs, or areas with specific threats

Additionally, NYP is building LFR capability in line with national best practice, and deployments are evaluated individually.

Each deployment location must be justified and recorded in the LFR Application and Written Authority Document. The project team do not have details of individual operations, areas and/or hotspots that commands will wish to apply to deploy LFR.

Any application will need to be assessed for the above criteria and authorised by the Authorising Officer with support of the SRO.

It is thought that if the above criteria is met, some York race events may be proportionate to deploy LFR, however the intelligence case is being assessed and will support any application for consideration by the AO.

The Deputy Mayor requested clarification about whether there would be a role for the independent scrutiny process that is already in place to monitor the police use of body worn video, stop and search powers to ensure there can be proper oversight and assurance around proportionality of use and safeguarding that no particular groups are unnecessarily targeted.

What’s the planned scrutiny process?

All planned and authorised deployments, unless operationally or time critical, will be publicised on NYP website with records for previous deployments also uploaded to provide transparency to the public. These can be submitted/presented to the relevant board or group for scrutiny at regular intervals throughout the year.

There will be oversight of these deployments from:

• Independent Ethics Board  (link to follow)
• York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority Policies & Procedures: Ensuring Excellence in Governance / Assurance Framework - York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Policing, Fire and Crime Team
• NPCC Facial Recognition Technology Board Facial Recognition Board Minutes
• Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) and surveillance | ICO
• Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (BSCC) Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner - GOV.UK
• Internal three‑stage governance: Pre‑Deployment, Operational Deployment, Post‑Deployment will be available once utilised. North Yorkshire Police exploring the roll out of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) | North Yorkshire Police

It is planned for the Independent Ethics Advisory Board to be consulted on LFR and to review the usage and data records periodically post deployments.

North Yorkshire Police were asked to confirm the legal premise for the proposals and whether this is proportionate to the challenges they face keeping people safe in our region and when faced with organised, cross-border crime.

What existing legal powers does this rely on, or are new dispensations being sought?

NYP relies on existing common law policing powers to prevent and detect crime, protect life and property, maintain order, and bring offenders to justice.

No new legal powers are being sought, but additional regulations / guidance for police forces have been published.

The legal basis is documented in the NYP Legal Mandate, DPIA, and Written Authority Document for each deployment.

• April 2026 - The High Court dismissed a judicial review challenging the Metropolitan Police’s use of live facial recognition.
• NYP are inspected by both the Information Commissioners Office and the Biometric & Surveillance Camera Commissioners Office to ensure this tactic is being used in line with common law, legislation, judicial rulings, and national guidance.

Reassurance for public and major events

Deployment follows the required process:

1. Identification of a policing purpose
2. AO (Superintendent+) provisional authorisation
3. Notify SRO for ratification.
4. Notify the office of the Deputy Mayor’s Office
5. Watchlist creation and safeguarding review
6. Overt signage and public notification
7. Real‑time camera detection → operator adjudication → officer engagement
8. Post‑deployment data deletion and evaluation.

NYP will consider the use of LFR as a tactic to support operational policing, not to replace it.

North Yorkshire Police were asked if there were any cost / savings implications for the police budget.

What is the estimated cost?

North Yorkshire Police have confirmed that each deployment will be resourced in line with the intelligence case and risk presented. This will be officers and staff from areas and functions within NYP and may incur some additional costs on a case-by-case basis.

• Sufficient trained officers must be provided.
• Resources must be proportionate to watchlist size and alert volume.
• Deployment must not proceed if resources cannot manage it.
• Costs will be drawn from operational budgets and mutual aid agreements with WYP if required.

What is the anticipated impact of this intervention?

• Improving detection and arrest of wanted offenders
• Preventing entry of persons posing risk (e.g., banning orders, stalking risks)
• Safeguarding vulnerable individuals
• Supporting precise crime‑fighting and reducing resource demand

Analytical assessment of the benefits will take place to ensure the use of LFR remains proportionate to what it achieves and I will monitor this through the wider assurance processes I have available to me in my role in holding North Yorkshire Police to account on behalf of the public.

What are the assurance measures for the public domain?

NYP is in the process of creating a public facing LFR page on NYP website to ensure all the information and documents are available for public scrutiny.

This will include deployment records and notice of upcoming planned deployments.

Mindful of people’s concerns about the possibility of “mission creep” the Deputy Mayor sought assurances that the scope of any proposed deployment is proportionate to existing patterns of crime and antisocial behaviour the police have to deal with and will only be used in addition to the physical policing presence which is so important in providing reassurance to the public at major events.

Watchlist Considerations

North Yorkshire Police have confirmed that the content of the watchlist will be identified and specified on the application, showing those to be included on the watchlist as necessary and proportionate.

If there is an intelligence case that certain persons are attending from surrounding areas, then those persons may be included in our watchlists, however NYP cannot use WYP watchlist in its entirety without any intelligence case that those in the watchlist are attending and it is justified.