Mobile Biometric Technologies (FBI) • MuckRock

11 Communications
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Communications

From: Michael Morisy

08/17/2015

Subject: None

Dear Custodian of Records/Public Records Coordinator,

I am collaborating with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a public interest group, and the media organization MuckRock, to survey how law enforcement agencies deploy mobile biometric technologies.

Mobile biometric technologies can be defined as any mobile device or mobile app used by law enforcement agencies to scan, capture, analyze, store, or automatically recognize any physical or biological characteristic of a subject. Commonly used mobile biometric technologies include fingerprint/thumbprint collection, facial recognition, scans of the iris or other elements of the human eye, Rapid DNA, and tattoo recognition. (Please see below for examples.)

Pursuant to Freedom of Information Act, I request the following records pertaining to mobile biometric technologies, including those listed above, as well as other biometric technologies I have not identified:

1) Purchasing and procurement documents, including but not limited to: purchase orders, RFPs, responses to RFPs, invoices and contracts

2) Policy, procedural, and training documents, including but not limited to: use policies, standard operating procedures, training materials, presentations, privacy assessments, data retention policies, and other guidelines

3) Programming documents, including but not limited to: funding opportunity announcements, grant applications and grantor status/progress reports, reports to legislative bodies, annual reports

4) Audit documents, including but not limited to: audits of the system, misuse reports, and reports to oversight bodies

In your response, I would appreciate that you individually address each of the above categories of documents individually.

In addition to the above classes of documents, I am also seeking the following information:

- The total number of individuals whose biometric data has been collected over the last three years,
- The total number of [biometric data points] contained in the agency’s database
- The retention period for biometric data
- The number of mobile biometrics devices purchased and in use
- The total number of authorized users of the mobile biometrics devices
- Which external agencies and entities have access to biometric data in the database and under what conditions,
- Whether biometric data is combined with biographic data such as name and address in the database, and
- The process by which data is entered into the database

These documents will be published online and inform the public dialog over police technology. Because of the great public interest in these issues, I ask that you waive any fees. If your agency is unable to do so, please contact me with an estimate of the costs.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Michael Morisy

Examples:

Mobile facial recognition
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/nov/08/cir-facial-recognition-software-san-diego/

Mobile fingerprint readers
http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1824&issue_id=62009

Mobile iris scanners
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/20/us-crime-identification-iris-idUSTRE76J4A120110720

Rapid DNA
http://www.policemag.com/channel/technology/articles/2014/02/speeding-up-dna-analysis.aspx

Mobile Tattoo Recognition
http://www.lawofficer.com/articles/print/volume-10/issue-4/features/new-smartphone-app-interprets.html

From: Mcguinn, Lauren S. (RMD) (FBI)

08/17/2015

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request: Mobile Biometric Technologies (FBI)

Dear Mr. Morisy,

The FBI has received your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy (FOIPA) request and it will be forwarded to Initial Processing for review. Your request will be processed under the provisions of FOIPA and a response will be mailed to you at a later date.

Requests for fee waivers and expedited processing will be addressed once your request has been assigned an FOIPA request number. You will receive written notification of the FBI’s decision.

Information regarding the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy is available at http://www.fbi.gov<http://www.fbi.gov>/ or http://www.fbi.gov/foia/<http://www.fbi.goiv/foia/>. If you require additional assistance please contact the Public Information Officer.

Thank you,

Lauren McGuinn
Public Liaison/GIS
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS)
FBI-Records Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
PIO: (540) 868-4593
Direct: (540) 868-4286
Fax: (540) 868-4391/4997
E-mail: foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov>
Questions E-mail: foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov>

Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia

Please check the status of your request online at http://www.fbi.gov/foia by clicking on the CHECK STATUS OF YOUR FOI/PA REQUEST under the FOIA INDEX located on the right side of the page. Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.

~WRD000
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From: Federal Bureau of Investigation

09/02/2015

Subject: None

Mail (Postmarked Sept. 2, 2015)

An interim response, stating the request is being processed.

Interim Response
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<iframe src="https://www.muckrock.com/foi/file/54318/embed/" width="100%" height="600px"></iframe>

From: MuckRock.com

10/02/2015

Subject: None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 17, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #1335659-000.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

From: Mcguinn, Lauren S. (RMD) (FBI)

10/02/2015

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request #1335659-000

Dear Mr. Morisy,

Please check the status of your FOIPA Request at http://www.fbi.gov and access the (Freedom of Information Act) link at the bottom of the page, or http://www.fbi.gov/foia, or http://vault.fbi.gov/fdps-1@@search-fdps, and follow the instructions below.

Check the Status of Your FOIPA Request

If your FOIPA Number is [1195846-0] please enter [1195846-000] into the system. If your FOIPA Number is [1195846-1] please enter [1195846-001] into the system. If you have any questions about the status of your FOIPA request, please e-mail foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov>.

FIND STATUS OF FOIPA- LAST UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Please enter the whole FOIPA number-Example: [1234567-000]

FOIPA:

Results will show the Request Number, Case Type and Process Description shown below:

FOIPA:

1234567-000

Case Type:

FOIPA

Process Description (Will display the current progress of the request)

The FBI’s FOIPA Program is searching the FBI’s indices for potentially responsive documents.

You may be contacted via formal letter for all fees and/or negotiation issues that may apply.
NOTE: Recent requests are entered into the FOIPA database in the order that they are received. Before you can check the status, you must have received correspondence assigning a FOIPA request number and the information transferred to the online database. Status information is updated weekly. If a request has been closed within the last six months the online database will display the following: The FOIPA number entered has been closed, and appropriate correspondence has been sent to the address on file.

Thank you,

Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia

~WRD382
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From: MuckRock.com

11/02/2015

Subject: None

To Whom It May Concern:

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

From: Mcguinn, Lauren S. (RMD) (FBI)

11/09/2015

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request #1335659-000

Dear Mr. Morisy,

Please check the status of your FOIPA Request at http://www.fbi.gov and access the (Freedom of Information Act) link at the bottom of the page, or http://www.fbi.gov/foia, or https://vault.fbi.gov/fdps-1@@search-fdps, and follow the instructions below.

Check the Status of Your FOIPA Request

FIND STATUS OF FOIPA- LAST UPDATED ON OCTOBER 29, 2015

Please enter the whole FOIPA number-Example: [1234567-000]

FOIPA:

Results will show the Request Number, Case Type and Process Description shown below:

FOIPA:

1234567-000

Case Type:

FOIPA

Process Description (Will display the current progress of the request)

The FBI’s FOIPA Program is searching the FBI’s indices for potentially responsive documents.

Thank you,

Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia

~WRD000
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From: Vallario, Timothy D. (RMD) (FBI)

11/10/2015

Subject: FOIA Request #1335659-000

Dear Mr. Morisy,

My name is Timothy Vallario and I process Freedom of Information and Privacy Act requests for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). I received your request for FBI records concerning Mobile Biometric Technologies. Since opening your case on August 28, 2015 responsive records have been located, and you indicated in your Request Letter that if fees were to be incurred that you would like for us to contact you with an estimate of the cost. The topic you came in on is broad in nature leading to a multitude of responsive FBI files, which incurs searching and duplication fees.

I am writing this email in order to speak with you about how you would like for us to continue processing this case. If possible, please respond to this email with a time that I may reach you by phone (at your convenience) or contact me via the telephone number provided below (or email). I work Monday through Thursday between the hours of 06:00AM to 06:00PM.

Thank you for reading, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Timothy D. Vallario
Government Information Specialist
FBI / RMD / RIDS
Winchester, VA
1-540-868-4839 ICRC Q-18

From: MuckRock.com

12/10/2015

Subject: None

To Whom It May Concern:

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

From: Vallario, Timothy D. (RMD) (FBI)

12/10/2015

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request #1335659-000

Dear Mr. Morisy,

Thank you for the response, as of November 24, 2015, 566 pages of responsive material has been located and forwarded to be assigned to a FOIPA Analyst for processing. For your information 556 pages puts your case on a “medium track” for processing, which means it will take an estimated seven to eight months before a release is made.

To note, the 566 pages of material does not cover all the components of your request, but was selected in order to avoid incurring search fees.

If you would like to discuss this request further I suggest you contact me at telephone number 1-540-868-4839.
Best,
Timothy Vallario

~WRD000
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From: Federal Bureau of Investigation

02/26/2016

Subject: None

Mail (Postmarked Feb. 26, 2016)

The request has been rejected, with the agency stating that the information or document(s) requested are exempt from disclosure.

Materials exempt from disclosure
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Files

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08/17/2015

~WRD000
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09/02/2015

Interim Response
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10/02/2015

~WRD382
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11/09/2015

~WRD000
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12/10/2015

~WRD000
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02/26/2016

Materials exempt from disclosure
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