United States, New York City
New York City Department of Investigation
Facial recognition for investigations
OperationalOfficial publicationPAI-DA87D8EC
- Body
- New York City Department of Investigation
- Country
- United States
- Area
- New York City
- Technology
- Facial recognition for investigations
- Supplier
- Not stated in the source
- Status
- Operational
In routine use by the named body, on the evidence of a public source. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- March 2019
- Legal basis
- Not stated in the source
- Oversight
- Disclosed in the City's annual Local Law 35 algorithmic tools reports; the 2024 report says a trained examiner evaluates matches.
- Evidence
- Official publication
Police force, government department or public body publication - Source
- NYC Office of Technology and Innovation, Algorithmic Tools Report for 2025 (March 2026)
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-DA87D8EC
Notes
The New York City Office of Technology and Innovation's algorithmic tools reports list a facial recognition tool used by the Department of Investigation since March 2019, which compares an uploaded image or video with lawfully possessed images to generate possible matches for investigators, including for fraud and other criminal activity. The report says 'A match serves as an investigative lead'. The vendor is not disclosed in the reports, which say it is an off-the-shelf product covered by confidentiality agreements. The 2024 report says a trained examiner evaluates the matches and records vendor updates in 2024.
Facial recognition for investigations elsewhere in United States
See them in the tracker| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, D.C.)Retrospective Facial Recognition | United StatesWashington, D.C. | Clearview AI | 2026 | Operational | |
| Milwaukee Police DepartmentRetrospective Facial Recognition | United StatesWisconsin | — | — | Paused | |
| US Secret ServiceFacial recognition for investigative leads (Office of Investigations) | United StatesNationwide | NEC (algorithm used in DHS OBIM's IDENT system, per the DHS inventory) | — | Operational | |
| Federal Bureau of InvestigationFacial recognition search (NGI Interstate Photo System and FACE Services) | United StatesNationwide | — | 2011 | Operational | |
| US Customs and Border ProtectionTraffic Jam (Marinus Analytics) facial recognition and data search for missing and trafficked people | United StatesNationwide | Marinus Analytics | 2025 | Operational | |
| Federal Bureau of InvestigationIn-house facial recognition tool for suggested matches | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Federal Bureau of InvestigationFacial recognition and data mapping tools for identifying sex trafficking victims | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| US Marshals ServiceAWS Rekognition duplicate-record check in the Capture System | United StatesNationwide | Amazon Web Services (Rekognition, as named in the inventory) | — | Proposed | |
| Montgomery County Police Department (Maryland)Facial recognition searches of mugshot and ID photo databases | United StatesMontgomery County, Maryland | — | — | Operational | |
| New York City Police DepartmentRetrospective facial recognition (probe image against arrest and parole photographs) | United StatesNew York City | Dataworks Plus; Idemia | 2011 | Operational | |
| Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) Bureau of Fire InvestigationsFacial recognition for fire investigations | United StatesNew York City | — | 2022 | Operational |