Both Peel and York police have begun using facial recognition technology as part of their investigations, the police services announced in separate news releases Monday afternoon.

Both police services say the move follows consultations with the province’s information and privacy commissioner. Peel police say the technology will automate parts of the force’s current image comparison process.

“The new system will scan and compare against lawfully-collected digital evidence currently stored in our databases,” said Peel police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich in a statement. “This new technology will not only support our criminal investigations greatly, but it will enable us to run mugshot searches faster with less human error, increasing safety in Peel Region.”

Peel police say the images in the organization’s existing mugshot database have been stored in accordance with the Identification of Criminals Act, and the technology will not be used to scan or compare against footage like live video from other sources.

In its own news release, York police also said images will not be gathered from social media or CCTV footage as part of the program.

“As we’re all too aware, criminals don’t limit their activity to a single jurisdiction,” York police Chief Jim MacSween said in a statement. “Partnering with Peel Regional Police is cost effective and enables us to collaborate more extensively to make both communities safer.”