Policy Text
SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS
GO 375.01
Page 1 of 1
375.01
Use of Facial Recognition Technology
02-13-2023
PURPOSE
The purpose of this general order is to establish guidelines for the acceptable use of the image s, information ,
and tools within a facial recognition system.
POLICY
It shall be t he policy of the Sacramento Police Department to utilize facial recognition technology solely as a
tool during investigations and active law enforcement incidents, while recognizing the established privacy rights
of the public. This policy applies to all law enforcement personnel who are granted direct access to any facial
recognition system as well as pers onnel who are permitted to request facial recognition searches.
PROCEDURE
A. DEFINITION S
1. Facial recognition technology - The automated comparison of a facial image for the purpose of
obtaining the personal identifying information (PII) of the person depicted in the subject image , against
a known person database, publicly available social media account s, publicly available Internet
website s, and/or open -source photo database s, resulting in a list of candidates generated by
algorithmic search comparison s used by commercial facial recognition platforms.
2. Facial recognition search result - An image returned by a facial recognition system that represents
a potential investigative lead based on algorithmic similarity to the submitted image.
3. Identification - The action or process of identifying a person. A positive facial recognition search
result is not considered a positive identification .
B. GENERAL
1. Facial recognition technology shall only be used when there is reasonable suspicion that such use will
provide information relevant to an active investigation, imminent threat to health or safety , or to help in
the identification of deceased persons or persons unable to identify themselves.
2. Facial recognition technology must be used in accordance with all federal and state laws, and all
department policies.
3. Potential matches returned by facial recognition systems are to be considered investigative leads only
and shall not be used as the sole basis for a detention, arrest, identification , or requesting a warrant of
any kind .
C. RESTRICTIONS OF USE
The department and its personnel shall not perform or request facial recognition searches on individuals or
organizations if those searches would violate applicable law s and/or other legal rights of the individual(s)
including, but not limited to, searches that are conducted based solely on race, religion, ethnicity,
citizenship, nation of origin, age, disability, gender, gender identification, sexual orientation, or othe r
protected classification .
D. REPORTING
Department employees who use facial recognition software shall document its use in an associated report
or on the dispatched call incident.