As the national newspapers continue to report on facial recognition technology, not least that campaigners are protesting its legitimacy, Jason Sierra, sales director for Seven Technologies Group, reiterates that the technology exists to protect, not pry.
He says: “It is completely understandable that the general public will want to know why they are being monitored, and for what purposes. However, with facial recognition technology they are not being monitored in the traditional sense. They are being detected and analysed but then ignored as a threat.
“Perhaps there needs to be an education programme around using this technology in this way at public locations such as the King’s Cross development.
“The developer has rightly enthused that the technology has been installed as a matter of ‘public safety’, and that’s exactly the point. In an era where security is heightened because of increased threat, it’s vital that the best means are utilised to ensure any potential threat is thwarted and that public safety is at the fore.
“CCTV is now pretty much on every corner of every high street in the UK. But by inputting target information to monitor persons of interest where footfall rises into the hundreds of thousands our law enforcers are able to protect the public without the need for armed forces on the ground.
“This is not a data gathering exercise, this is 21st century police surveillance and we should continue to use the technology at our disposal to protect the citizens of the UK.”