PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST LETTER
Automated cameras and AI surveillance systems
From Understanding Your AI: https://understandingyourai.org/records-request/
Fill in every [bracket], then send it as the body of an email to the FOIA coordinator or records officer.
Michigan requires your complete name, mailing address, and a phone number or email address in the request.
General information, not legal advice. Verified against Michigan's statute on October 2, 2026.

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Subject: FOIA request: public records on automated camera and AI surveillance systems

To the FOIA coordinator or records officer for [CITY / COUNTY / DEPARTMENT]:

Under [the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.231 et seq. / your state's public-records law / the federal Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 for a federal agency], I request copies of the following public records about automated license-plate readers, facial-recognition systems, and any other camera or video-analytics system that uses artificial intelligence, operated by or on behalf of [PUBLIC BODY] from [DATE, e.g. January 1, 2024] to the date of your response:

1. All contracts, purchase orders, quotes, renewals, grant applications and invoices with any vendor of such systems (including but not limited to Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions / Vigilant, Axon / Fusus, Genetec, Rekor, Verkada and Clearview AI).

2. A list of camera locations, or the map or spreadsheet the department uses to track them, including the date each was installed.

3. All policies, standard operating procedures, and training materials governing use of the systems, including data-retention periods and the rules for "hot lists," alerts, and searches.

4. All data-sharing agreements, memoranda of understanding, or network-access settings that allow other agencies, private entities, or the vendor to search [PUBLIC BODY]'s data, and any list of agencies with access.

5. Audit logs or usage reports showing the number of searches, alerts, and hits for the period (for Flock Safety systems, this includes the network audit), and any audits or reviews of the system.

6. Minutes, agendas, resolutions, or votes of [CITY COUNCIL / COUNTY BOARD] authorizing the purchase or renewal, and any public notice about the installation.

7. Any record of complaints, misidentifications, wrongful stops, or corrections involving the systems.

Please send your response and the records by email, in electronic form, where possible. If any part of this request is denied, please cite the specific exemption for each withheld record and release the remainder. I ask that any fee be waived or reduced because furnishing these records primarily benefits the general public and this request is not for commercial use. If fees will exceed $25, please send the itemized estimate and contact me before processing.

Thank you,
[FULL NAME]
[MAILING ADDRESS, required in Michigan]
[EMAIL] · [PHONE]
Sent [DATE]