Greater Manchester Police News
31 Jan 2026
Rape suspect arrested in Manchester city centre after Live Facial Recognition alert
A 26-year-old is in custody having been arrested on suspicion of rape, and harassment and coercive control offences on Friday
We made a total of 4 arrests using Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology in Manchester city centre
In the first 3 months of using LFR, one in five arrests have been for registered sex offenders
A rape suspect has been arrested during our latest Live Facial Recognition (LFR) deployment in Manchester.
A 26-year-old is in custody having been arrested on suspicion of rape, and harassment and coercive control offences having been arrested in the city centre on Friday.
He had been wanted in connection with a rape committed in Salford in September 2025 and a domestic incident in Oldham in May last year.
He was also detained in connection with theft offences and remains in custody for questioning.
The arrest was made by Project Servator officers assisting in Piccadilly Gardens
Over recent days using the cameras Police have arrested a 55-year-old man on suspicion of theft, a 59-year-old man wanted on recall to prison and breach of sex offender notification requirements and a 48-year-old man for theft offences
At one of the most recent deployments, John Thompson aged 43 from Manchester, was caught in Piccadilly Gardens and has now been charged with 36 offences.
He was stopped on suspicion of breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and has since admitted 36 offences.
Thompson was charged with 35 breaches of his SHPO and a breach of his sex offender notification requirements – he will next appear at Manchester Crown Court on 16 February 2026 and remains in custody.
