Roseville Police | Facial recognition
Roseville Police publishes a facial recognition policy that bars live-stream use except in an imminent threat to life and bars uploads of images of children 16 or younger. No record we fetched names the vendor or shows how often the system is used.
At a glance
- Published policy
- Policy 609, Facial Recognition System (Lexipol stamp 2025-09-03) [1]
- Use of a match
- A possible match "shall NOT be the sole basis for enforcement" [1]
- Live video
- Not allowed "unless there is an imminent threat to life or involves at-risk individuals" [1]
- Children
- Uploads depicting a California resident child "sixteen (16) years or younger" are prohibited, with listed exceptions [1]
- Vendor
- not named in the policy or in any record we fetched [1]
- Searches run
- not in any record we fetched
How it happened
- Context
Policy 609 stamp
The policy describes facial recognition as "a valuable investigative tool" and sets the limits summarized on this page. It names no system or vendor. [1]
What the policy says
Roseville Police Department Policy 609 states that “Facial recognition possible matches shall NOT be the sole basis for enforcement” and that the technology “shall only be used as an investigative tool to provide leads.” Under prohibited uses it states: “(a) Department personnel shall not use facial recognition to actively surveil members of the public through any camera or video device unless the person(s) are under an active criminal investigation or the surveillance is in response to an imminent threat of life. (b) Department personnel shall not use facial recognition on live stream video unless there is an imminent threat to life or involves at-risk individuals.” It adds that “Users are prohibited from knowingly uploading or providing content to Facial Recognition systems that depicts a child sixteen (16) years or younger that is a resident in the state of California,” with exceptions for the child’s safety, victim identification, violent felony investigations and child sexual abuse material.[1]
What it does not establish
The policy names no vendor and no system. No record we fetched shows a contract, a search count, or a council approval. The status on this page reflects a published policy that authorizes use, not a documented deployment.
Questions
- Does Roseville Police use facial recognition?
- The department publishes a policy governing "the facial recognition system" and its authorized uses. Whether and how often it is used, and with which vendor, is not in any record we fetched. This page records the policy, not a confirmed deployment. [1]
- What does the policy prohibit?
- Using facial recognition "to actively surveil members of the public through any camera or video device unless the person(s) are under an active criminal investigation or the surveillance is in response to an imminent threat of life," using it "on live stream video unless there is an imminent threat to life or involves at-risk individuals," treating a possible match as the sole basis for enforcement, and uploading images of a California resident child 16 or younger except for listed purposes. [1]
What we do not know
- The vendor, the contract and the cost.
- The number of searches run and the number that led to an identification.
- The council item, if any, that approved the system.
What you can do
Show up
Systems like this one are approved by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have not yet confirmed where each of them meets in Placer County.
What we have documented in Placer County →Protect yourself
Practical steps to shrink your personal data trail. Our guides publish at launch; until then, EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense is the best starting point.
Surveillance Self-Defense →Sources
- 1. Roseville Police Department Policy Manual, Policy 609, Facial Recognition System · Primary document · · accessed · archived copy · our copy (3773 KB)
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