MPIA Request for Information Re: Your Agency's Use of Facial Recognition Software (Wicomico County Sheriff)
It is a clone of this request.
| Multi Request | MPIA Request for Information Re: Your Agency's Use of Facial Recognition Software |
| Submitted | June 29, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Amelia McDonell-Parry
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, I am hereby requesting access to the records listed below and held by the Wicomico County Sheriff:
- A list of every instance in which the Wicomico County Sheriff has used facial recognition software – including but not limited to the Thales Cogent Mugshot System (CMS) – since January 1, 2022;
- A list of all Facial Recognition (FR) Record Numbers and/or CMS Transaction Numbers generated since January 1, 2022;
- A list of all facial recognition software systems used by the Wicomico County Sheriff since January 1, 2022;
- Contracts between the Wicomico County Sheriff and any facial recognition software companies;
- Users manuals for all facial recognition software used by the Wicomico County Sheriff;
- The total number of Facial Recognition Match Reports generated since January 1, 2022;
- The total number of positive facial recognition results generated since January 1, 2022;
- The total number of instances in which the Wicomico County Sheriff identified a suspect or person of interest using facial recognition software since January 1, 2022;
- A list of all social media platforms used by the Wicomico County Sheriff in conjunction with facial recognition software;
- All the Wicomico County Sheriff policies and procedures pertaining to the use of facial recognition software;
- Names of all individuals employed or contracted by the Wicomico County Sheriff who are trained in the use of facial recognition software;
- A description of the Wicomico County Sheriff's facial recognition training requirements.
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. Alternatively, please consider waiving any fees, pursuant to § 4-206(e)(2)(ii) of the General Provisions Article, as this request is on behalf of individuals served by the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, a state government agency, which solely serves indigent citizens of Maryland. As a result, my request for the above-listed public records is in the public interest. I would prefer the request be 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 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Deborah Katz Levi
Director of Special Litigation
Maryland Office of the Public Defender
(443) 272-1068
From: Wicomico County Sheriff
Good Morning,
I am acknowledging your request for the below listed information under the MPIA. Please allow 30 days to process your request as allowed by law.
Sincerely,
1st Sgt Jessica Murphy
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~WRD000
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Maryland Public Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 30, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Wicomico County Sheriff
My apologies I am working on this. I did not realize we had this technology but we do. I will send it to you today or tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.
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~WRD000
From: Wicomico County Sheriff
Ms. Levi,
I have spoken with our crime analyst Melissa Bitters who is the only employee of this office to use facial recognition software. She uses the CMS system provided by the State of Maryland and uses it only to identify clearer pictures of individuals for photo line ups. Let me know if you need anything else pertaining to this request. I have listed your questions and her answers (in red) below:
- A list of every instance in which the Wicomico County Sheriff has used facial recognition software – including but not limited to the Thales Cogent Mugshot System (CMS) – since January 1, 2022; 47
- A list of all Facial Recognition (FR) Record Numbers and/or CMS Transaction Numbers generated since January 1, 2022;
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- A list of all facial recognition software systems used by the Wicomico County Sheriff since January 1, 2022; CMS Only
- Contracts between the Wicomico County Sheriff and any facial recognition software companies; NONE
- Users manuals for all facial recognition software used by the Wicomico County Sheriff; I have a disk with training videos on it that the CJIS Trainer Manager sent me. Doesn’t seem to have a “user manual” per say
- The total number of Facial Recognition Match Reports generated since January 1, 2022;
- The total number of positive facial recognition results generated since January 1, 2022;
For both of the above italicized questions. I have never used the software to truly ID an unknown subject. I have used it to help find other pictures to use in a photo lineups.
- The total number of instances in which the Wicomico County Sheriff identified a suspect or person of interest using facial recognition software since January 1, 2022; NONE
- A list of all social media platforms used by the Wicomico County Sheriff in conjunction with facial recognition software; NONE
- All the Wicomico County Sheriff policies and procedures pertaining to the use of facial recognition software; The Sheriff’s Office does not have a policy or procedure for Facial Recognition Software.
- Names of all individuals employed or contracted by the Wicomico County Sheriff who are trained in the use of facial recognition software; Melissa Bitters, Crime Analyst
- A description of the Wicomico County Sheriff's facial recognition training requirements. The are no Sheriff’s Office training requirements. The software is owned by the State of Maryland and a training disc is provided.
Sincerely,
1st Sgt Jessica Murphy
Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office
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