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You assume it will be used in good faith which is charitable. It doesn't even need to take an authoritarian regime to pervert this technology. Abusive police officers in the US for example use Flock to stalk ex girlfriends.
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> Abusive police officers in the US for example use Flock to stalk ex girlfriends.

the UK is not the US ;)

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Yes I'm sure their police force is entirely free of any psychological problems and in no way selects for people who might be incline to abuse their position of authority.

Oh wait, this came out just yesterday:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/08/10/detective-respon...

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on a micro level there are always specific cases of individual in group did a thing.

but we have a totally different approach to policing, which is what i was actually meaning https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56834733

> The report looked at police training requirements in more than 100 countries and found that the US had among the lowest, in terms of average hours required.

> Also, many other countries require officers to have a university degree - or equivalent - before joining the police, but in the US most forces just require the equivalent of a high-school diploma.

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Good friend is a criminal defense barrister. Most polite thing I can say is that you are drawing incorrect conclusions from the data you have.
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> Lots of moaning about this in the comments but no real explanation as to what the objection is beyond vague references to "privacy". What is the actual risk to me as an innocent person going about their daily business? If it helps identify perpetrators of crime what's the issue?

This same argument would apply to Flock cameras, correct?

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Literally all normal people on the tube already pay with bank card or Apple Pay and are thus trackable anyway. This just levels the playing field for the barrier pushers.
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honestly, i've found that it's usually better to not engage in these threads. the likelihood of a good faith discussion is very low. as you point out, it's mostly ideological kneejerk reactions rather than actual discussion based on considered viewpoints. but i'll give it a go.

i personally don't like this for a few reasons. possibility of data leaks, ick factor via my built-in paranoia around being watched/recorded, possibility of false positives etc. but i have some faith in TfL / BTP to not piss about in an egregious way. we have pretty decent checks and balances these days for UK police compared to the past and definitely compared to some police forces in the states. i'm also aware that as a man i tend to not experience the same shit that a lot of women have to deal with on a daily basis.

so i might be willing to accept it as part of a necessary trade-off based on my real life experiences on the tube. i'd probably be willing to accept having my face recorded/pattern matched when using the tube if it either stops or helps to prosecute a sexual assault.

there is definitely a difference between liking something and accepting it.

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Innocent of what exactly in whose eyes exactly? Everyone has secrets
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The “main character” syndrome is strong here .. thing is, most people wouldn’t even be the main character in a movie about their own lives .. also if this helps catch criminals/terrorists/thieves .. what’s the actual harm to an innocent passenger ..

ps: great initiative by LU

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