The faces of thousands of fans on their way to watch Arsenal v Tottenham last month were scanned in a bid to catch criminals and supporters barred from attending games because of their previous behaviour.
Three people were arrested and charged after being caught on camera by surveillance vans.
The images of tens of thousands of offenders, alleged violent criminals and, for the first time, those with football banning orders, had been put into a "watchlist" database.
Policing minister Chris Philp defended the use of the controversial technology, which has been described by privacy campaigners as Orwellian. He said it would help officers "quickly and accurately identify" those wanted for serious crimes and its use helps "free up police time and resources".
Camera vans were placed at Highbury and Islington station to catch fans heading to the north London derby on September 24. The three people arrested included George Dean, 40, from Marylebone, who was charged with being in breach of a football banning order. He has been bailed to appear before magistrates on November 23.
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