A plan by Lincolnshire police to trial a controversial facial recognition and behavioural analysis system drew concerns from rights and privacy advocates.

Lincolnshire Police said it aimed to test an artificial intelligence system that could analyse CCTV footage to detect people's moods and facial expressions, search for individuals wearing specific items like hats or glasses, and identify people carrying bags or umbrellas.

The aim of the system was to identify suspects in crowds, such as at football matches, catch serious offenders more quickly, and to enhance existing facial recognition capabilities already used through the Police National Database.

The force had received funding from the UK Home Office to pilot the technology in the town of Gainsborough.

The proposed trial raised significant privacy and ethical concerns, with civil liberties groups such as Big Brother Watch arguing it would violate people's privacy rights, while others questioned the scientific validity of AI emotion detection technology. Some also expressed concerns about the expansion of the UK state's surveillance capabilities.

The pilot was delayed due to the ethical concerns raised, with Lincolnshire Police saying it would conduct human rights and privacy assessments before potentially moving forward.