Comments come as more retailers embrace AI surveillance tools to combat shoplifting…

Retrospective facial recognition will do more to reduce petty crime than increasing the number of police on patrol, according to UK National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Chairman Gavin Stephens.

The biometric technology, plus a relatively small cadre of specially trained officers, is the most effective way to combat crimes like shoplifting, Stephens told The Telegraph.

He also suggested that increasing high-visibility patrols is a popular pledge, but belongs to “a previous era” and “won’t solve petty crime.”

“Given a choice between 10 officers in a neighbourhood team struggling without technology and all its capabilities, compared with eight officers on a team with really groundbreaking abilities to protect victims and bring offenders to justice, I will take the eight and the technology every day of the week,” Stephens said.

Several major retailers are already using facial recognition to help tackle crimes such as shoplifting, prompting some civil liberty campaigners to warn of growing risks to privacy and misidentification.