Stratford is to become one of a handful of stations to trial live facial recognition technology, as British Transport Police search for new ways to identify offenders on the rail network.
The cameras scan faces in real time and check them against watchlists of people wanted for serious offences, giving officers the chance to stop suspects for arrest or questioning. The technology is already in use in other areas.
The move comes after the Police and Crime Committee at City Hall heard that more than 4,500 incidents of violence against women and girls were reported on public transport in 2025 — over a dozen every day — a picture underlined by recent cases such as the serious assault at Liverpool Street station that prompted a BTP CCTV appeal.
Just 3 per cent of those reports led to a charge, while more than half failed to identify a single suspect, the committee was told. Research by TravelWatch also found that around 70 per cent of people avoid travelling at certain times because they fear for their safety.
Committee member Unmesh Desai, writing for London Now, has backed the trial, arguing the cameras would give officers another tool to identify suspects — while acknowledging they could never replace good policing.
He said concerns about live facial recognition should not simply be dismissed, and that the technology must be used carefully, with proper safeguards and transparency to reassure those who are worried.
If the Stratford trial proves successful, it could be replicated across the wider transport network. It follows other recent police action in the area, including three more men charged over a fatal shooting in Newham.
