Kurt Martin

Stories

From bans to bodycams: how police facial recognition is moving onto the street

As of May 2026: Operational lead on Edmonton’s facial-recognition bodycam proof of concept

In December 2025, the Edmonton Police Service began testing Axon body cameras with third-party facial-recognition software. The watchlist contained 6,341 people flagged for risks like 'violent or assaultive,' 'armed and dangerous,' or 'high-risk offender,' plus 724 with serious warrants—roughly 7,000 faces. Officers didn't get real-time alerts; instead, footage was analyzed to test accuracy and workflows.

Updated May 10

Axon revives police facial recognition on bodycams with Edmonton pilot

New Capabilities

As of May 2026: Operational lead for the EPS facial‑recognition body‑worn camera pilot

Edmonton Police became the first North American force to put live facial recognition on officers' body cameras. In December 2025, they switched on a month-long pilot. The AI-enabled bodycams scan the faces of people officers encounter against a watch list of 6,341 individuals with safety flags and 724 people wanted on serious warrants.

Updated May 10

Notable Quotes

"The pilot is meant to help make Edmonton patrol officers safer by enabling their body-worn cameras to detect anyone who authorities classified as having a ‘flag or caution’..."

from From bans to bodycams: how police facial recognition is moving onto the street · Updated May 10

“The pilot is meant to help make Edmonton patrol officers safer by enabling their body‑worn cameras to detect anyone who authorities classified as having a ‘flag or caution’.”

from Axon revives police facial recognition on bodycams with Edmonton pilot · Updated May 10

“Obviously it gets dark pretty early here. Lighting conditions, our cold temperatures during the wintertime, all those things will factor into what we’re looking at in terms of a successful proof of concept.”

from Axon revives police facial recognition on bodycams with Edmonton pilot · Updated May 10