Police say that two people were arrested during the day-long trial of the new technology in the city centre on Saturday (May 16).
The arrests were for failing to appear at court – one man for theft from a person and another for theft from shops.
These were two of seven positive identifications on the day.
The others were two registered sex offenders, who were found to be complying with conditions, a woman who was breaching a criminal behaviour order and will be voluntarily interviewed and two further identifications which required no further action.
Two police vans carrying the new technology were deployed to Peterborough between 10am and 4pm – one in Long Causeway and another in Bridge Street.
It is the first time the technology has been used in Cambridgeshire and police have hailed it as a success.
Inspector Sam Tucker, who led the deployment, said: “We had a successful day, with seven positive identifications.
“Not only that but our presence in such a busy area of the city received a really positive response - from the public, who were interested in how the technology worked, and Queensgate security and a local shop, which noticed a reduction in crime.
“The officers were also able to deal with other incidents, including helping ambulance colleagues with a medical incident.”
Police say the technology officers locate those people who pose the greatest threat to the wider public.
It works by comparing faces from a live camera feed against a police-generated watchlist in real-time.
The watchlist on this occasion was made up of 579 people, included suspects wanted for criminal offences, those with outstanding warrants for arrest ordered by the courts, and high-risk offenders with notifications requirements imposed by courts.
The system analyses key facial features and creates a mathematical representation of these features, known as a facial biometric template, which is then used to find possible matches.
A police spokesperson said the Peterborough deployment resulted in more than 34,000 faces scanned and two arrests.
When facial images are flagged as a potential match, an officer reviews it to determine whether further action is required.
The watchlist generated for the deployment is deleted within 24 hours, while images and biometric data of individuals who do not trigger an alert are deleted automatically.
Once deleted, they cannot be retrieved.
Live facial recognition is due to be used for a second time - again in Peterborough city centre - on 19 June.
Assistant Chief Constable John Massey told the Peterborough Telegraph: “We are trialling the system and afterwards there will be a rigorous analysis of the results.
“But we are confident that they will be positive.”
“It is another tool in our armoury and will help to trace those people trying to evade compliance with justice and causing significant harm across the county and beyond.
“It will also help increase the identification of people at large who should be arrested.”
5. Police action
The police's new facial recognition technology van used for the first time in Long Causeway, Peterborough Photo: Cambridgeshire police