It comes after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to spend £115 million to reform a “broken” policing model using Artificial Intelligence.
Every police force in the country will be able to use live facial recognition vans as part of the biggest shake-up in policing in decades.
An existing 10 vans will rise to 50, rolled out nationwide, to catch criminals on police watchlists – and will be overseen by a national centre on artificial intelligence (AI).
(Image: Jeff Overs/BBC/PA Wire)
Speaking in the Commons, Mahmood set out how the policing structures are “outdated” and called policing the “last great unreformed public service”.
Dorset Police confirmed it is testing the use of AI in policing, in a statement from the Superintendent, Emma Sweetzer: “We are currently exploring how the use of Live Facial Recognition could help us bring offenders to justice and keep the residents and visitors of Dorset safe.”
“We anticipate having access to use the technology from late spring and any deployments would be communicated via our social media channels, local media, website and Dorset Alert.”
Two Bournemouth business owners who were recently victim to a break-in believe the use of Artificial Intelligence could be vital in assisting the police with their job: “I’m all for it once you’ve been broken into.”
The paper presented during Parliament debates said: “We have already begun to support police to make responsible use of AI, with over £50 million allocated to date in areas such as facial recognition, deepfake detection and the automation of force control room operations and support service tasks.”
This references the thirteen police forces that already use LFR, as of November 2025, including the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.
Harpreet Uppal said: “Under this Government, we have increased funding to forces by close to £2 billion since being elected, and the funding settlement for 2026-27 is an increase of £796 million based on the year before. It is this Government who are funding police.”
Many BCP locals share concerns about how it will be used and if it will be funded by the council.
Allyssia, a 45-year-old woman living in the town, stated: “My only problem is that i sometimes think are people going to be arrested and it’s not them.”
A 26-year-old carer, named Courtney, echoed these concerns: “It would be good to catch the criminals, but it’s a bit uncomfortable to think they’re driving around recording your faces.”
On Thursday, December 4 2025, the Home Office researched the publics attitudes towards the police’s use of facial recognition technology in England and Wales, finding that one in ten opposed the use of it.
The Dorset Police Superintendent has taken these comments into account: “The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner will be carrying out an independent consultation with members of the public to understand the views of our community.”
However, a date for when this meeting will be held has not yet been announced.