Southampton trials facial recognition cameras in pubs and clubs

Facial recognition cameras are being trialled to help stop those banned from pubs and clubs gaining access.

The scheme, which is taking place in Southampton, is running for three months across six venues.

It has been brought in after businesses found previous offenders were still getting into night-time venues due to fake IDs or human error.

The camera uses images of 65 banned offenders and alerts doors staff once they attempt to enter a venue.

GO! Southampton, the Business Improvement District (BID) in the city, said it currently ran a red card scheme which meant once an individual was banned from one night-time venue, they were banned from them all.

The technology is "safeguarding people having a good night out from criminals", said Jade McCauley, operations manager at GO! Southampton

Jade McCauley, operations manager at GO! Southampton, said: "We've had incidents in the past where individuals that have had an exclusion have got into venues accidently, either through human error or using fake IDs.

"And then they've reoffended, they've caused other incidents and then their ban's been extended.

"So, we think using this technology, we're safeguarding people having a good night out from criminals that shouldn't be in our night-time economy."

Synergy Security has been trialling the new technology

Jack Pearce, head doorman at Orange Rooms, said: "We do see quite a lot of people come through, especially in this area but there's a lot of faces, and a lot of new faces, on the scheme.

"So, unless we're constantly on the website checking, it's quite hard to remember all those faces.

"So, anything that can assist us on the door and make the whole area a lot safer, it doesn't just benefit us as a venue, it benefits the area."

If a person is not recognised on the cameras, data will be instantly deleted from the system as the cameras only match against the images of those currently banned.

The trial, which launched in December, has already flagged six offenders to door staff.

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