‘Super recognisers’ crime-stoppers to be used at Glastonbury

Glastonbury is among several UK festivals to be using “super recognisers”, people with a special ability to remember faces.

These “super recognisers” are being used to stop crime and offenders in a crowd. They’re said to have an 80 per cent greater ability than the average person when remembering faces. They’ve been used by The Metropolitan Police to assist with CCTV images and grainy photographs.

An “elite group” is being used at Glastonbury and Notting Hill carnival, reports The Independent. The term was first used in 2009 by Gettysburg College, Philadelphia psychologist Richard Russell, who told the BBC: “If you have experiences where you often recognise people out of context that’s an indicator. If you’re more likely to recognise someone else than they are to recognise you, then that’s an indicator.”

Glastonbury 2015 runs from 24th-28th June.