West Fargo police detail how they use facial recognition software Department explains how Clearview AI tool works following national scrutiny over wrongful arrest WEST FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - West Fargo police detailed how they use a facial recognition tool called Clearview AI. The tool has drawn scrutiny after a Tennessee grandmother spent five months in jail following a misidentification. The department has used Clearview AI since 2020. The software is used most often in theft and fraud cases. Capt. Burkhartsmeier said officers attempt to identify suspects through traditional methods before turning to the technology. “Our officers, detectives will try to identify the person just based off of whatever they got at the time. If they’re unable to come up with something for the suspect, then they’ll decide to run it through Clearview,” Burkhartsmeier said. “So, it has to meet those requirements first. It’s not like we use it on every single case.” The system runs a photo against a database of over 70 billion photos and returns potential suspects. Officers and detectives then verify whether the match is accurate. Burkhartsmeier said the software has limitations that factor into every search. “It does have limitations. So...hats, face coverings, stuff like that, depending on the angle that the person’s looking makes it more effective or less effective,” Burkhartsmeier said. The department said Clearview AI is one piece of a larger investigative process. Every potential match must be verified, a process that can involve multiple agencies. “A lot of times we get traveling fraud or theft groups that come from all over the country. So, if we get potential suspects on those, we’ll also send it to North Dakota SLIC and have them run it, see what they think, and then talk back and forth,” Burkhartsmeier said. “Still, that’s not an