Greater Manchester Police made 17 arrests around Sunday’s Manchester derby as officers deployed Live Facial Recognition technology as part of the policing operation.
The arrests were for alleged offences including assault, public-order offences and tragedy chanting.
GMP said the number was higher than it would normally expect for the fixture and described its approach as deliberately proactive.
Live Facial Recognition cameras were also deployed around the operation.
Police said the technology identified one person wanted in connection with domestic-abuse offences. Officers subsequently arrested the individual.
The derby coincided with a planned Manchester United supporters’ protest against the club hierarchy.
GMP has not published a full breakdown connecting individual arrests with particular parts of the day’s operation, and there is no basis for attributing the arrest total to the protest itself.
The use of facial recognition adds a separate dimension to the policing of major football matches.
The technology compares faces captured by cameras against police watchlists and alerts officers to potential matches.
In this case, GMP can point to a specific result: a wanted individual was identified and arrested.
It also means people attending one of England’s biggest football matches were subject to live biometric scanning.
Sources
- Greater Manchester Police – Manchester derby policing operation results in 17 arrests
- Centre Devils – Manchester derby protest and policing context
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