Facial recognition audit logs/usage statistics (Seattle Police Department)

At this time, the Seattle Police Department’s Legal Unit is operating under an extreme backlog of requests, staffing shortages, the redeployment of supporting units to SPD’s frontline COVID-19 response, and, pursuant to CDC recommendations and City direction, reassignment to remote access. For these reasons, our ability to process new requests is substantially limited; we are currently estimating minimum response timelines, depending on the volume and complexity of requests, in excess of 6-12 months. Current requests should likewise anticipate that it will take additional time to process records and respond. We apologize for any inconvenience, and deeply appreciate your understanding as we all pull together, in the face of this unprecedented, pandemic public crisis, to manage as best we can our business operations.

Dear Todd Feathers:

Thank you for using the Seattle Police Public Records Request Center. (https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=nZGH0ylxadMp5hTpNkeAFs5-2B0tNFpOmK4x7yiv5okBWV7cNXawYhgRb15ZYq812sjosyu25jaqNbkhZ-2FlHCSr2hrOgTti4FxZ0mWrVq647Y-3DZyjz_sosw8G-2FFjoVe8E-2FGVx9IAMTwnMfDPY6yVjhcKp-2BxnSAuMKnkYXwryVUk3pJl32QMvHjOw-2F6m7VSelBsk37ybWmPDGB5kSeiZzoFKPgN9il0TWnIPBkubIOtFV8vRH7To545JAlH-2Bk55cpcKGN4NUU-2BEW-2BjZVu4DKPbQ18yAmE230ZUc4G7eF5Vc3SfAD38FG5GfJ3FBIlTM72txgYEOE8-2BijXvdBS8hvs5lhksG4j7B2DEenySnsLvugj1-2FLKEZqY8-2BcmD3FFAbS9NRO4w69YdxyFa9hcWcMTnU37ShYdOH6Wi3K-2FTjjCD-2FbcOfjw4JI7Hckcq3M0YD5ViFTVQxfRdZmFcL0n1uTLVSUujR5cdNSp7C9LrbZsiB5x5uRBuCUVfsQfKC0uBVmVxkm-2BSmcgQ-3D-3D)

Your request was received on June 04, 2020and the reference number is P058868-060420.

If the City's representative entered your request into the system and you didn't specifically register:

* Access the Police Public Records Request Center (https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=nZGH0ylxadMp5hTpNkeAFs5-2B0tNFpOmK4x7yiv5okBWV7cNXawYhgRb15ZYq812sjosyu25jaqNbkhZ-2FlHCSr2hrOgTti4FxZ0mWrVq647Y-3DuPTv_sosw8G-2FFjoVe8E-2FGVx9IAMTwnMfDPY6yVjhcKp-2BxnSAuMKnkYXwryVUk3pJl32QMvHjOw-2F6m7VSelBsk37ybWmPDGB5kSeiZzoFKPgN9il0TWnIPBkubIOtFV8vRH7To545JAlH-2Bk55cpcKGN4NUU-2BEW-2BjZVu4DKPbQ18yAmE230ZUc4G7eF5Vc3SfAD38FG5GfJ3FBIlTM72txgYEOE8-2BijXvdBS8hvs5lhksG4j7B2DEenySnsLvugj1-2FLKEZq2FdAWCC3QdERaZQweYfAM5aG6yTHfaesDLaic52cKzMUc1g2K-2Bsf0EnztAOdtHPkD5NFCaNKmbrXC3Q5Sxth2bdjoc0HsPTbhRINXuWQHEEZ7YoiAsU1ad0z-2B8Z3X0eyKQr-2Bcvr1tPP0x-2BOQkgOVnA-3D-3D)
* Access the "My Records Request Center"
* Access the "View My Requests"
* Enter the E-Mail below (should be the E-Mail you gave the representative)
* At the login prompt click the forgotten password link
* You will be sent a temporary password to login and then change to a permanent password
Please use the center to track the progress of your requests, pay for your requests online, and download your records!

Here is your login: requests@muckrock.com
Request Summary Incident Information (if provided):

* Incident Number:
* Incident Date:
* Incident Time:
* Incident Location:
* Investigating Officers:
Request Description and Details (as provided):

* Overall Description:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Washington Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1) Copies of all user guides, handbooks, technical manuals, or comparable documents in the department's possession regarding department employee use of facial recognition system(s). These systems are commonly provided by vendors including, but not limited to, NEC, Dataworks Plus, Clearview AI, Cognitec, and others. The entirety of this request should be construed to include facial recognition systems provided by commercial vendors or developed internally.

2) Copies of all audit logs for the department's facial recognition system from Jan. 1, 2020 until the date this request is processed. Facial recognition vendors commonly include daily, weekly, or monthly audit log capabilities in their products and the U.S. Department of Justice recommends that all law enforcement agencies maintain audit logs for facial recognition systems (see: https://it.ojp.gov/GIST/1204/Face-Recognition-Policy-Development-Template-For-Use-In-Criminal-Intelligence-and-Investigative-Activities).

3) All reports detailing aggregated usage/transaction statistics for the department's facial recognition system from May 1, 2020 until the date this request is processed. Commercial facial recognition systems include the ability to easily view these daily, weekly, or monthly aggregate reports, which often detail the number of queries per day, number of daily users, number of photographs/facial templates uploaded to the database, etc. If the department's facial recognition system provides options for the time period covered in the aggregate usage or transaction statistics, I ask that you provide daily reports (rather than hourly, weekly, monthly, etc.)

4) Any documents (this includes screenshots of program dashboards) detailing the number of photographs or facial templates included in the database linked to the department's facial recognition system as of the date this request is processed.

I ask that all fees be waived as I am a journalist (examples of my recent work can be found at toddfeathers.com) and I intend to use the requested records to publish articles in the public interest and not for any commercial purpose.

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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Todd Feathers

Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/

06/04/2020

Todd Feathers
requests@muckrock.com

RE: Public Disclosure Request #: P058868-060420

Dear Todd Feathers,

This communication is in response to your public disclosure request.

The purpose of this correspondence is to provide you a status update. Your request status is: Assigned.

If you have any questions, you may send messages using the Police Records Request Center or call the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.
Please add seattle@mycusthelp.net to your E-mail contacts/address book to ensure delivery of the record center E-mails to your Inbox. (mailto:seattle@mycusthelp.net)

This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY.

SPD receives between 7000 and 8000 public records requests annually and is processing between 1400 to 1500 open requests at a time. This may result in a slower than anticipated response to your request. Thank you for your patience.

06/11/2020

Todd Feathers
requests@muckrock.com

RE:  Public Disclosure Request#: P058868-060420

Dear Todd Feathers,

This communication is in response to your public disclosure request.


The purpose of this correspondence is to provide you a status update.  Your request status is:  Being Researched/Reviewed.

If you have any questions, you may send messages using the Police Records Request Center or call the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.


Please add seattle@mycusthelp.net to your E-mail contacts/address book to ensure delivery of the record center E-mails to your Inbox.

This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY.

SPD receives between 7000 and 8000 public records requests annually and is processing between 1400 to 1500 open requests at a time. This may result in a slower than anticipated response to your request. Thank you for your patience.

--- Please respond above this line ---

06/11/2020

Todd Feathers
requests@muckrock.com

RE: Public Disclosure Request#: P058868-060420

Dear Todd Feathers,

This communication is in response to your public disclosure request received on June 04, 2020. At this time, the Seattle Police Department’s Legal Unit is operating under an extreme backlog of requests, staffing shortages, the redeployment of supporting units to SPD’s frontline COVID-19 response, and, pursuant to CDC recommendations and City direction, reassignment to remote access. For these reasons, our ability to process new requests is substantially limited; we are currently estimating minimum response timelines, depending on the volume and complexity of requests, in excess of 6-12 months. Current requests should likewise anticipate that it will take additional time to process records and respond. We apologize for any inconvenience, and deeply appreciate your understanding as we all pull together, in the face of this unprecedented, pandemic public crisis, to manage as best we can our business operations.
Pursuant to RCW 42.56.520, this is notification that the Seattle Police Department has received your public disclosure records request and needs additional time to respond.
At this time, we anticipate having a response or a status update to you on or about 9/25/2020.
We are initiating the process of researching your request, collecting responsive records, and/or preparing records for dissemination.

If you have any questions, you may send a message using the Police Records Request Center or call the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.

Sincerely,
Larissa Malanca
Seattle Police Department
Legal Unit

SPD receives between 7000 and 8000 public records requests annually and is processing between 1400 to 1500 open requests at a time. This may result in a slower than anticipated response to your request. Thank you for your patience.

As a reminder you can login at the Police Records Request Center where you can access Police online information, manage your profile, submit record requests, track your request status, receive and send messages, make payments, view frequently asked questions, and download your records.
Please add seattle@mycusthelp.net to your E-mail contacts/address book to ensure delivery of the record center E-mails to your Inbox. (mailto:seattle@mycusthelp.net)

--- Please respond above this line ---

09/29/2020

Todd Feathers
requests@muckrock.com

RE: Public Disclosure Request#: P058868-060420

Dear Todd Feathers,

This communication is in response to your public disclosure request received on June 04, 2020.
Dear Todd,
Additional time is needed to process your request. SPD currently has over 2400 public disclosure requests with less than 10 people working on them. Due to this high volume of requests, staffing shortages, and remote reassignment due to Covid-19, requests may incur an unanticipated delay in response. Your next response, update, or installment is estimated to be ready on or about 11/06/2020.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.

Lara Malanca

If you have any questions, you may send a message using the Police Records Request Center or call the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.

Sincerely,
Larissa Malanca
Seattle Police Department
Legal Unit

SPD receives between 7000 and 8000 public records requests annually and is processing more than 2000 open requests at a time. This may result in a slower than anticipated response to your request. Thank you for your patience.

As a reminder you can login at the Police Records Request Center where you can access Police online information, manage your profile, submit record requests, track your request status, receive and send messages, make payments, view frequently asked questions, and download your records.
Please add seattle@mycusthelp.net to your E-mail contacts/address book to ensure delivery of the record center E-mails to your Inbox. (mailto:seattle@mycusthelp.net)

--- Please respond above this line ---

11/06/2020

Todd Feathers
requests@muckrock.com

RE: Public Disclosure Request#: P058868-060420

Dear Todd Feathers,

This communication is in response to your public disclosure request received on June 04, 2020.
Dear Todd,
Per the Video and Photo Unit Manager, "at the request of Deputy Chief Marc GarthGreen, the Regional Booking Photo Comparison System (facial recognition) was transferred to the Washington State Fusion Center back in 2019. The SPD Video and Photo Units do not have any facial recognition software or capability related to this technology."
SPD does not have facial recognition software. This concludes our response to your request.
Lara

If you have any questions, you may send a message using the Police Records Request Center or call the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.

Sincerely,
Larissa Malanca
Seattle Police Department
Legal Unit

SPD receives between 7000 and 8000 public records requests annually and is processing more than 2000 open requests at a time. This may result in a slower than anticipated response to your request. Thank you for your patience.

As a reminder you can login at the Police Records Request Center where you can access Police online information, manage your profile, submit record requests, track your request status, receive and send messages, make payments, view frequently asked questions, and download your records.
Please add seattle@mycusthelp.net to your E-mail contacts/address book to ensure delivery of the record center E-mails to your Inbox. (mailto:seattle@mycusthelp.net)