Facial recognition software and marketing - February 2019 (Arlington Police Department)

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07/01/2019

Beryl Lipton
DEPT MR 69494
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

RE: Open Records Request Status Notification

Dear Beryl Lipton,
Reference Number : W082355-062119 To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Records and materials related to the solicitation, acquisition, and use of face recognition technology and related software and services.
This software or services may be provided by Rekognition, Face++, and FaceFirst; this request is applicable to these and any other company providing facial recognition services under consideration or contract with this agency.
Materials responsive materials include but are not limited to:
• Agreements: contracts (including non-disclosure agreements), licensing agreements, nondisclosure agreements
• Bid records: Requests For Proposal (or equivalent calls for bids), sole source or limited source justification and approval documentation, documentation of selection, and other materials generated in the consideration and selection of the technology in question
• Company relations and communications: records related to meetings or follow-up actions with any vendors, companies, or other private entities marketing face recognition to this agency for immigration, intelligence, law enforcement, or other use.
• Financial records: purchase orders, invoices, and other memoranda and documentation.
• Marketing records: All marketing materials - unsolicited, requested, or otherwise - acquired from vendors of face recognition technology
• Policy records: any policy directives, guidance documents, memoranda, training materials, or similar records governing the use of face recognition technology for immigration, law enforcement, or other purposes.
• Training records: training material governing the use, sharing, or access to any related data related to or collected by the face recognition software/technology, including the legal standard that is required before using the technology
• Use and function records: Materials that describe the function of the software considered or in use by this agency, including emails, handouts, PowerPoint presentations, advertisements, or specification documents.
Please limit the search to records produced from January 1, 2017 – present. Please include in your search as responsive records: communications, memorandums, background papers, meeting minutes, email exchanges, or presentation materials. If your office has questions about this request, please feel free to direct them to the address associated with this request or call the MuckRock office at 617-299-1832.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Beryl Lipton
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use the above link to let us know.
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 69494
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
PLEASE NOTE: This request was filed by a MuckRock staff reporter. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
The current status of your request is : . Received and Pending
We will notify you when your request has been finalized If you have questions about your Open Records Request, please contact Arlington Police Records Services at  817-459-5683.
Sincerely,
Records Services
Arlington Police Department

Hello Beryl Lipton and Freddy Martinez,

You both submitted almost identical requests for information regarding the solicitation, acquisition, and use of facial recognition software and services. Specifically you seek 9 categories of information related to the use of this type of service by the Arlington Police Department. Ensuring that the department gathers and reviews all responsive documents will require a diligent search across several divisions within the department. This will likely take over 5 hours of labor to identify the responsive documents.

Section 552.2615 of the Texas Government Code requires that a governmental body provide a requestor with an itemized statement of estimated charges if charges for public information will exceed $40.

Itemized estimated charges:
Labor (in limited circumstances): 6 hours @ $15/hour = $ 90.00
Overhead: 20% of Labor = $ 18.00
TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: $ 108.00
Deposit Required: $54.00

Please note that under the Texas Public Information Act these records are also available for inspection. Although there may be some costs associated with inspecting, these costs are likely to be significantly less than those associated with receiving copies of the responsive records. You may visit our offices during business hours and inspect the documents. It is strongly suggested that you make an appointment.

You, the requestor, must respond to this notice in writing, either by mail, in person, by facsimile, or by electronic mail. If your written response is not received within ten business days after the date this statement was sent, your request will be considered to have been automatically withdrawn. In your response, you must state that you:

1. Will accept the estimated charges:
2. Are modifying the request in response to the itemized statement; or
3. Have sent to the Texas Attorney General’s Office a complaint alleging that you have been overcharged for being provided with a copy of the public information.

Please note that when the total cost estimate exceeds $100, work will not begin until the deposit has been paid. Additionally, if a deposit is required, then payment of the deposit must be received within ten business days after the date this statement was sent, or your request will be considered to have been automatically withdrawn. Thank you for your prompt attention.

Sincerely,

DeAndrea Bradford
Assistant City Attorney

Hello Beryl Lipton and Freddy Martinez,

You both submitted almost identical requests for information regarding the solicitation, acquisition, and use of facial recognition software and services. Specifically you seek 9 categories of information related to the use of this type of service by the Arlington Police Department. Ensuring that the department gathers and reviews all responsive documents will require a diligent search across several divisions within the department. This will likely take over 5 hours of labor to identify the responsive documents.

Section 552.2615 of the Texas Government Code requires that a governmental body provide a requestor with an itemized statement of estimated charges if charges for public information will exceed $40.

Itemized estimated charges:
Labor (in limited circumstances): 6 hours @ $15/hour = $ 90.00
Overhead: 20% of Labor = $ 18.00
TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: $ 108.00
Deposit Required: $54.00

Please note that under the Texas Public Information Act these records are also available for inspection. Although there may be some costs associated with inspecting, these costs are likely to be significantly less than those associated with receiving copies of the responsive records. You may visit our offices during business hours and inspect the documents. It is strongly suggested that you make an appointment.

You, the requestor, must respond to this notice in writing, either by mail, in person, by facsimile, or by electronic mail. If your written response is not received within ten business days after the date this statement was sent, your request will be considered to have been automatically withdrawn. In your response, you must state that you:

1. Will accept the estimated charges:
2. Are modifying the request in response to the itemized statement; or
3. Have sent to the Texas Attorney General’s Office a complaint alleging that you have been overcharged for being provided with a copy of the public information.

Please note that when the total cost estimate exceeds $100, work will not begin until the deposit has been paid. Additionally, if a deposit is required, then payment of the deposit must be received within ten business days after the date this statement was sent, or your request will be considered to have been automatically withdrawn. Thank you for your prompt attention.

Sincerely,

DeAndrea Bradford
Assistant City Attorney

Good afternoon,

You requested a follow-up on this request, #W082355-062119. This request was closed on 7/23/2019 as our office did not receive a response to the cost estimate that was sent on 07/08/2019. If you are still seeking these records, please submit a new open records either in-person at our main station (620 W. Division St. Arlington, TX 76011) or through our online portal which can be reached at https://arlingtontx.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/(S(lldqpkmhg14og10ciqjr0djl))/SupportHome.aspx.
Best,
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Caitlyn Hall
Day Shift - Records Services Assistant