UK police eye facial recognition as crime-fighting tool
By Sky News, January 26, 2026Facial recognition technology is set to be rolled out across England and Wales under wide-ranging policing reforms announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Presenting the government’s long-awaited Police Reform White Paper to MPs on Monday, Mahmood said more than £140m would be invested in new technologies aimed at modernising policing and reducing the amount of time officers spend on administrative work.
She said all police forces would be given artificial intelligence tools to cut bureaucracy and allow officers to spend more time on patrol, rather than behind desks.
Alongside the expansion of AI, live facial recognition technology will be deployed nationwide to help track and arrest suspects, including wanted rapists and murderers.
The Home Office described the proposals as the biggest reform to policing since the service was professionalised more than 200 years ago.
Mahmood told MPs that crime had evolved faster than police forces, allowing fraudsters and organised crime groups to exploit outdated systems.
“Crime has evolved, but police forces haven’t,” she said. “Fraudsters and serious organised crime bosses are outsmarting them. Under my reforms, forces will now hire more digital, cyber and forensic officers to put vile criminals behind bars.”
As part of the overhaul, police forces will recruit more technology specialists, including digital forensic experts, to combat fraud, disrupt criminal networks operating on the dark web and identify crime hotspots more effectively.
The reforms also include plans to significantly reduce the number of police forces across England and Wales from the current 43, in a move designed to streamline operations. This will involve the creation of a National Police Service, which has been dubbed the “British FBI”.
The government has also committed to establishing local policing areas for every town, city and borough, alongside the recruitment of 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers by 2029.
Other proposals include the introduction of a mandatory “licence to practise” for all officers, intended to raise standards and rebuild public trust. This will be supported by improved career development opportunities and a nationally mandated performance management framework.
Mahmood said the reforms were aimed at making policing more visible, more accountable and better equipped to tackle modern crime across England and Wales.