Members of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham’s cabinet have backed AI-enabled facial recognition cameras in the borough.
Proposals to develop the council’s CCTV system have been approved by cabinet members and supported by an investment of £3.2m.
In the council’s report to cabinet members, the improvements to the CCTV network are said to include ‘live and retrospective facial recognition’, as well as AI-assisted cameras and upgraded infrastructure to help combat crime and anti-social behaviour in ‘hotspots’ across the borough.
With a current CCTV network of over 2,000 cameras, the council has suggested the installation of further park cameras to support prevention and deterrence strategies. The report states that the changes will ‘elevate H&F to an exceptionally advanced level of CCTV crime detection capability’, and highlights that the scheme will require the police’s ‘support and cooperation’.
The council has also proposed the introduction of drones for ‘additional surveillance’, subject to approval from the Civil Aviation Authority.
However, objections have been raised by campaign group Big Brother Watch, who told the BBC that the plans constitute ‘an unprecedented level of mass surveillance’, which ‘marks the end of privacy in the public space’.
To learn more about how councils are using technology to tackle anti-social behaviour, check out: AI-enabled CCTV to fight fly tipping.
