AI-driven surveillance is evolving from simply identifying suspects to monitoring everyday activities, transforming routine travel into a continuous flow of behavioral data.
Police forces in the UK are testing artificial intelligence systems capable of automatically monitoring and categorizing the movements of drivers through the extensive network of number plate recognition cameras. Internal documents acquired [1] by Liberty Investigates indicate that three of the nine regional organized crime units in England and Wales are piloting a program developed by Faculty AI. This programme is designed to analyze vehicle movement data and identify journeys that the algorithms classify as “suspicious.”
The new initiative shifts this approach significantly. Rather than examining individual license plates, it focuses on training software to analyze complete routes, seeking behavioral patterns that align with the operations of criminal networks associated with “county lines” drug trafficking. The initiative, known [2] as Operation Ignition, signifies an increase in scale and ambition. In contrast to conventional alerts that require officers to manually identify “vehicles of interest,” the machine learning model utilizes historical data to create its own list of potential targets.
In August, 2018 authorities [3] in Hull city centre reported over 100 arrests following the initiation of a crackdown on antisocial behaviour. Humberside Police increased patrols in an effort to address issues affecting the city center, which include a notable rise in individuals using drugs associated with the term “zombie.” Authorities characterize this initiative as a technical experiment; however, documents suggest there may be intentions for its long-term implementation on a national scale.
Chris Todd who [4] is the Chief Constable at Humberside Police said, “The National Data and Analytics Office is piloting a small-scale, exploratory, operational proof of concept looking at the potential use of machine learning in conjunction with ANPR data. The tooling is not integrated to the national ANPR service and is working with a very small subset of ANPR data to test the proof of concept. Its purpose is to identify vehicles of interest to support detection and enforcement action. Data protection and security measures are in place, and an ethics panel has been established to oversee the work. ANPR is used by policing to aid the prevention and detection of a variety of crime types. The current pilot is testing use of machine learning to support policing’s response to serious and organised crime. If the pilot proves to be successful, other crime types may be considered as use cases.”
However, civil liberties organizations caution that such systems often expand beyond their original intended purposes. Jake Hurfurt, who [5] is Head of Research and Investigations at Big Brother Watch said, “The UK’s ANPR network is already one of the biggest surveillance networks on the planet, tracking millions of innocent people’s journeys every single day. Using AI to analyze the millions of number plates it picks up will only make the surveillance dragnet even more intrusive. Monitoring and analyzing this many journeys will impact everybody’s privacy and has the potential to allow police to analyze how we all move around the country at the click of a button.”
In 2023, Police ANPR cameras [6] were deployed for the Commonwealth Games and then relocated to strategic locations throughout the West Midlands to monitor traffic. Police officials stated that the implementation of the technology would enhance their capacity to apprehend criminals, asserting that law-abiding citizens have no reason for concern regarding the expansion of this technology. They emphasized that Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras are not utilized for speed monitoring.
Dr. Xavier L’Hoiry, [7] who is a senior lecturer at Sheffield University with expertise in police use of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system, indicated that many [8] individuals may not recognize the technology's capabilities for surveillance. “Most people would be fine with targeted surveillance of bad actors but this indiscriminate application is when it starts to ring alarm bells.”