Aurora Police Seek Council Approval to Begin Public Comment on Facial‑Recognition Use

The Aurora Police Department asked the council committee to permit the department to proceed with a statutorily required public‑comment period and community meetings for proposed use of facial recognition technology as part of criminal investigations.

Commander Chris Papi, District 3, presented the department’s three‑year review and a draft policy that staff said aligns with national best practices and Colorado statutory requirements enacted by the state legislature in 2022. Papi said the statute requires a notice of intent to the council, public comment for at least 90 days, and at least three community meetings. "The department is seeking approval from councils to use facial recognition technology," he said.

Papi described two vendor sources the department proposes to use in combination: Lumen (a statewide records consortium that would compare probe images to mugshot photos already in a law‑enforcement database) and Clearview AI (a private company that aggregates publicly available images from websites and social media). He said Lumen participation is already available at no additional cost but requires the council process be completed before activation. Clearview AI would be a paid service; the department projected three‑year costs in the packet as approximately $32,000 for year one, $46,000 for year two and $67,000 for year three, plus training costs.

The presentation emphasized that department policy would restrict uses: searches would be limited to suitable probe images for active investigations, missing‑person or decedent identification and to mitigate imminent threats. The policy also lists prohibited uses including civil or immigration enforcement, persistent surveillance, harassment and use as the sole basis for probable cause. Papi said the department will implement "meaningful human review" (peer review and supervisory review) and limit tool access to a small number (about 12) of trained users with ongoing refresher training.

Committee discussion covered vendor selection (no RFP was done for Clearview AI; staff described single‑source procurement due to the limited number of providers and existing Lumen participation), training plans (FBI‑provided week‑long courses and vendor training), legal limits (results would be investigative leads requiring corroboration and not sole grounds for probable cause) and public notice requirements.

A committee member stated approval for the item to move out of committee: "I approve this one," and staff confirmed that the next steps are to begin the public comment period and community meetings required under state law before any activation of the systems. The department reiterated that community feedback will be accepted and evaluated during that period and remain open after implementation.