Mobile Biometric Technologies (Ogden City Police Department)

Please see attached denial.

Thank you,

Tracy Hansen, MMC | City Recorder
Ogden City Corporation
Phone: 801-629-8156
Fax: 801-629-8154

The Office of the City Recorder: Records & Archives | Municipal Code | Elections Official | Public Inquiries & Relationships

August 24, 2015
Ogden City Police Department
Ogden Police Records
2186 Lincoln Avenue
Ogden, UT 84401

This is a follow up to a previous request:

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 9, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

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

---
On Aug. 9, 2015:
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 Utah’s Government Records Access and Management Act (“GRAMA”), 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,

Cherie Clark

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

Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock
DEPT MR 20360
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

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.
[Image removed by sender.]

Good Morning – the denial sent to you on September 4, 2015 is Ogden City’s response to your request for records. I’ve copied the denial below.

Thank you,
Tracy Hansen

August 11th, 2015

Cherie Clark VIA EMAIL
MuckRock
requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

RE: Request for Records

Dear Cherie Clark:

In response to your request for records dated August 9, 2015, you are hereby notified that access to the described records is denied. Access to the information is denied for the following reason:

☐ The Information is “private” pursuant to UCA 63G-2-302(1)(b), (f), and (l) and you have not shown that you are a person entitled to access pursuant to UCA 63G-2-202(1).

☐ The information is “controlled” pursuant to UCA 63G-2-304 and you have not shown that you are a person entitled to access pursuant to UCA 63G-2-202(2).

☐ The information is “protected” pursuant to UCA 63G-2-305 and you have not shown that you are a person entitled to access pursuant to UCA 63G-2-202(4).

☐ The information is exempt from disclosure pursuant to the following cited statute, federal law or regulation, court rule or order:

☐ Other: The Ogden City Police Department currently does not have any mobile device or mobile app used to scan, capture, analyze, store, or automatically recognize any physical or biological characteristic of a subject.

You have the right to appeal this denial as prescribed by UCA 63G-2-401, and may do so within 30 days of the date of this letter. The appeal request should be submitted to the Ogden City Recorder’s office and may include a short statement of facts, reasons, and legal authority in support of the appeal.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 801-629-8058.

Sincerely,

Angie Turner
Ogden Police Records Supervisor