Live facial recognition technology will be deployed in Lowestoft town centre next week as Suffolk Police step up efforts to locate people wanted over serious offences.
The technology will be used in Lowestoft on Tuesday 25th August, before being deployed in Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich on the following two days.
Suffolk Constabulary will use a van and equipment temporarily loaned from Surrey Police for the three-day operation.
The system compares live camera images of faces against a predetermined database, or 'watch list', containing people of interest to police.
Officers say the scanning process takes less than a second. Images of people who are not on the watch list are automatically and immediately deleted and are not stored.
If the system produces a potential match, officers on the ground will check the person's identity before deciding what further action is appropriate.
Police say the deployments are intended to help prevent crime, locate wanted individuals and keep communities safe.
Sergeant Anthony Welford, of the County Partnership Prevention Hub, said the force takes people's privacy seriously and encouraged members of the public to speak to officers if they want to understand more about the technology.
The live facial recognition equipment will be operating in Lowestoft town centre on Tuesday 25th August.
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