Cheshire Police's facial recognition van is in Warrington town centre today, its first use here. In four Chester runs it scanned 43,832 faces, with no arrests.
Cheshire Police is using live facial recognition in Warrington town centre today, Friday 9 October. It is the first time the force’s facial recognition van has been used in the town.
The force announced the deployment on Thursday afternoon. It says the cameras are there to find people who are wanted by police, outstanding suspects, or people who pose a risk of harm to the public.
The statement does not say where in the town centre the van will be, or for how many hours. It says signs will be put up around the area while the cameras are in use.
How it works
The camera compares each passing face with a watchlist of people police are looking for. If a face matches someone on the list, officers are alerted.
The force says:
- only images of people on a pre-approved watchlist are used
- the biometric data of anyone who does not match is deleted automatically and immediately
- an officer must confirm a person’s identity before any action is taken
- officers will be on hand all day to answer questions from residents, businesses and visitors
Chief Inspector Joe McNally is overseeing the deployment. He said: “This first deployment in Warrington town centre will help us better understand how the technology works in a local context and how it can support our officers in preventing crime, locating wanted individuals and keeping communities safe.”
He added: “It does not store images of the general public, it does not track people, and it is not used for mass surveillance. The system only alerts officers to individuals who are already wanted for specific offences.”
Who can be on the watchlist
The force’s published Live Facial Recognition policy sets out who can be added. It came into effect on 22 May 2026. For a deployment aimed at a crime hotspot, the list can include:
- people the local policing unit is seeking over the types of offence common in that area
- people suspected of a serious crime, which need not have happened in the area
- people subject to certain court orders, such as a sexual harm prevention order
- offenders managed under the multi-agency public protection arrangements
All missing people sought by Cheshire Police can also be added when a deployment is aimed at finding missing people.
The policy also covers what happens to the data afterwards:
- watchlists are deleted within 24 hours
- the camera footage from a deployment is deleted within 31 days, subject to some exceptions set out in the policy
The force’s statement does not say which kind of deployment today’s is.
What happened in Chester
Until today, every deployment the force has recorded was in Chester city centre. Its register of deployments lists four.
| Deployment | Watchlist size | Faces seen | Alerts | Arrests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First (dated 05/03/2026 in the register) | 3,405 | 8,343 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 July 2026 | 3,662 | 11,487 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 July 2026 | 4,069 | 16,664 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 September 2026 | 4,037 | 7,338 | 0 | 0 |
Between them, the four deployments scanned 43,832 faces. They produced two alerts, both at the first deployment. The register records both as correct matches. One led to an “other” outcome and one to no action. None led to an arrest, and the register shows no false alerts.
The register writes the last date as 09/12/2026. That matches the force’s own account of Saturday 12 September, when it said more than 7,300 people passed the cameras on a busy race day.
The force also announced a deployment in Chester on 19 September. That one is not yet in the register.
Why the town centre
The force has not said why it chose Warrington town centre. Its facial recognition page says proactive deployments are based on intelligence and crime data, including crime that persists at high volume in one place.
Our own count of police.uk data found 475 crimes and anti-social behaviour reports within a mile of Market Gate in August. That was 6% fewer than a year earlier, but public order offences rose from 56 to 77.
What it means for you
- If you are in the town centre today, you may pass the cameras. Look out for the signs.
- You do not need to do anything. If you are not on the watchlist, the force says your biometric data is deleted at once.
- Officers will be there to answer questions. You can also read the force’s privacy notice for facial recognition.
- The force’s policy says it publishes a record of every deployment and its results. We will report the Warrington figures when they appear in the register.
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