A man wanted in connection with a sexual assault who police said had evaded capture for 15 years was among nine people arrested during a Metropolitan Police facial recognition deployment in Southall.
Live Facial Recognition (LFR) cameras were positioned along The Broadway and South Road on Tuesday (16 June 2026) as part of a six-hour operation led by the Southall Safer Neighbourhood Team and supported by other local policing units.
Police said the technology compares images of people passing through an area against a pre-authorised watchlist of people wanted by officers.
Among those arrested were people wanted for robbery and knife-related offences. Police said officers also received alerts relating to people on the Sex Offender Register and carried out checks to ensure they were complying with the conditions placed on them.
Acting Inspector Laurence Bisdee, who led the deployment, said: “This was a successful operation demonstrating how technology can support officers in keeping our communities safe.
“Local officers are on the street working hard every day to try and make a difference in Southall, so it was great to be part of an operation which delivered such fantastic results and removed wanted and violent offenders off our streets.”
