PCC welcomes planned police increases but concerns raised over expansion of live facial recognition use

Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, John Tizard (Labour), has welcomed a new government initiative that claims, “every community in their constituency and across the country will have a named, contactable police officer”.

The Labour government also says there will be 13,000 extra neighbourhood officers and PCSOs patrolling local communities across the UK over the next four years, as well as dedicated anti-social behaviour leads and new visible patrols in town centres as part of a shake-up of community policing.

Locally, Bedfordshire Police is currently set to recruit 30 new police officers and 12 new PCSOs as part of a £200 million funding boost from the Home Office.

However, it remains unclear where these new personnel will be deployed within the county.

This announcement comes after the Police and Crime Commissioner spoke at an ‘extraordinary’ Police and Crime panel meeting on 25 June, in which he stated there has been a “4.7% rise” in crime since 2023/24.

“In both urban and rural Bedfordshire, local community police officers, patrol officers and detectives are solving more crime than ever before,” claimed Mr Tizard.

“There has been some misinformation about this over the last few weeks, and I am pleased to have this opportunity to put the record straight. 

“The community teams are one part of the wider comprehensive police service, which includes specialist units from firearms to traffic to rape and serious sexual crime to cyber-crime to crime prevention teams and more.

“Every resident and business benefits from the services of nearly 1500 officers and 1200 police staff.”

Read: Private security initiative extended for further month after “successful” opening weekend

“Action needed, not words”

In response to the announcement, Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire, Blake Stephenson, welcomed the news, but said “action is more important than words”, and also lamented the lack of focus on rural crime.

“I will always welcome extra police officers on our streets, but action is more important than words,” said Mr Stephenson.

“There are 1,300 fewer officers across the country than when this Government came to power last July and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners say the Government’s spending plans for policing is not enough.

“I continue to engage with our local Police and Crime Commissioner but despite our conversations, I was disappointed to see no locations in Mid Bedfordshire were included in the Government’s ‘Summer blitz on town centre crime’ plan.

“We need to see a focus on rural crime which is impacting our local communities, not just the larger towns of Bedford and Luton.

“The headlines of new and contactable police officers are all very promising, and I will make sure to hold the PCC and the Government to account on their promises to deliver them,” he added.

Conservative MP for North Bedfordshire, Richard Fuller was approached for comment but no one from his office was available to respond in time for publication.

Facial recognition concerns

There are also plans to extend the use of Live Facial Recognition technology, with ten additional LFR vans rolled out across the country, including one for Bedfordshire’s police force.

Bedfordshire Police has already trialled the effectiveness of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology after deploying the cameras at the 2024 Bedford River Festival, despite concerns from security experts.

Read: Concerns raised over police’s planned use of facial recognition software at Bedford River Festival

The Home Office has said that the new units will operate according to strict rules, which ensure they are only deployed when there is specific intelligence to warrant its use.

Andy Chesterman of Bedford’s Privacy Helper previously raised concerns over the use of the Live Facial Recognition system and the right of law-abiding citizens not to be captured by such equipment.

“The use of live facial recognition in public places is always going to be controversial as it involves the use of biometric data (special category personal data) without any restrictions or controls over who is subject to processing (children or adults),” he said.

In addition, Rebecca Vincent, the interim director of the pressure group Big Brother Watch, told the BBC, “Police have interpreted the absence of any legislative basis authorising the use of this intrusive technology as carte blanche to continue to roll it out unfettered.”

However, the Police and Crime Commissioner maintains that the use of the technology offers no threat to civil liberties.

PCC, John Tizard said: “I welcome the allocation of Live Facial Recognition technology to Bedfordshire by the Home Office. I am pleased that later this summer, Bedfordshire Police will deploy the LFR vans with qualified police officers in our town centres.

“This technology and its use are no threat to civil liberties. It can enable police officers to undertake their duties more effectively. It is an enabler, as police officers will still make decisions, not the technology.”

A statement by the Home Office also confirmed that the new LFR technology will show “no bias for ethnicity, age or gender” after independent testing by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).