Canadian police trialing facial recognition bodycams

The article reports that Edmonton Police Service is piloting Axon facial recognition body cameras for up to 50 officers, with images compared against a police-maintained watchlist and non-matches deleted, while Axon purportedly lacks access to the data. It highlights ethical and accuracy concerns, including wrongful arrests and bias in facial recognition, and surveys differing policy landscapes—restrictions in parts of the US, a live-use ban with exceptions under the EU AI Act, and broader UK deployments—before noting Edmonton will decide on broader adoption in 2026.