The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), located in the State of Florida, hosts the largest single facial recognition database in the U.S., calledFlorida’s Facial Recognition Network (FR-Net). Pinellas deputies — as well as over 230 partnering agencies in Florida — use FR-Net to run photos of unknown suspects against a database of over 25 million identified faces pulled from criminal and non-criminal sources like driver's licenses, mugshots and federal IDs.
More specifically, FR-Net provides facial biometric search capabilities, subject information, face image comparison tools, training for facial recognition search, and face image analysis methods and best practices via Criminal Justice Network (CJNET) to authorized Florida law enforcement agencies
Under the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the PCSO would provide self-paced online training information for selected members of the Miami Beach Police Department (MBPD) and, after successful completion of the training material, grant access and make information available for the trained personnel to perform automated facial recognition searches and face image comparisons through the Face Analysis Comparison & Examination System (FACES). Being able to access this facial recognition network for criminal justice purpose will benefit the MBPD as it will inevitably provide critical investigative information potentially leading to suspect or missing person identifications.
The City of Miami Beach has the authority under Chapter 23 of the Florida Statutes, known as the “Florida Mutual Aid Act,” to enter into Voluntary Cooperation and Operational Assistance Mutual Aid Agreements.
The MBPD therefore requests the Mayor and the City Commission to authorize the City Manager and City Clerk to execute this Memorandum of Understanding with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.