‘Super-recognizers’ are Scotland Yard’s new secret weapon

Scotland Yard has a new secret weapon when it comes to finding suspects: a group of psychological outliers known as “super-recognizers.” They’ve got the ability to recall a far greater range of faces over much longer periods of time than the average person. The condition is still controversial, but after recent peer-reviewed studies have found evidence for it, London’s police force wants to use it to their advantage, employing a squad of super-recognizers to help recognize wanted criminals captured on surveillance feeds. As detective chief inspector Mike Neville says, “When we have an image of an unidentified criminal, I know exactly who to ask.”