Police use facial recognition near Boardmasters
BBCPolice are using facial recognition tools near the Boardmasters festival site.
Devon and Cornwall Police said the aim was to try to reduce the risk of violence against women and girls, organised serious crime, identify sexual offenders and prevent illegal drugs being brought into the county.
The live facial recognition (LFR) tools - which have not been used in Cornwall before - would only be used in the town of Newquay and not at the festival site at Watergate Bay, officers said.
Images of people who were not of interest would be "automatically and permanently deleted within seconds" and police would not retain the data, Ch Insp Peter Shabytah said.
The force said the LFR technology would operate in real-time "comparing a live camera feed of faces against a pre-determined watchlist", possibly including people wanted in connection with criminal investigations.
It said vans using the equipment would be "clearly signposted when deployed" and said images captured of people who were not on a pre-determined watchlist were "instantly deleted forever from the system".
"When the system suggests a possible match, trained officers on the ground would review it and decide whether to engage with the person," officers said.
Shabytah said the first outing to use it was seeing a CCTV van with the technology deployed in the town centre at a known anti-social behaviour and crime hotspot.
He added: "Perhaps in years to come we might move closer to the site and we'll work out what the best location is for us."
At Boardmasters itself, police event commander Supt Vicky Howell said "months of planning and preparation" had gone in to "working with the event organiser, local partnerships and our communities, to try and make this event as safe as possible".
She said: "It's really important that we work with our communities and work with people in the festival to help prevent crime, help mitigate safeguarding risks and help make it an enjoyable event for everybody.
"What I would say if you are coming to the festival, look after yourself, look after each other, make sure that you stay with your friends and, if you do get separated, have a plan to get back together.
"And I think, really importantly, if you see something that does not look right, or if you see somebody who appears vulnerable, talk to a police officer, talk to a steward or talk to someone at the welfare team because we can help."
She said: "The important thing is we'd rather get in there early and try and talk to you and resolve a problem rather than wait until something goes wrong."
There were 14 suspected spiking incidents at 2025's festival, compared to 55 in 2024.
Police also said no-one had tested positive for having drugs in their system in the past two years at the festival.
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