Take action
Two steps.
Check whether your city is contributing police data to LexisNexis. Then send one document to the people who can do something about it.
On this page
Step 1
See if your city is contributing.
Start with our agency directory. Every entry links to the contract or public-records return it was drawn from. If your department is not there, the other three searches widen the net.
- 1.Search the agency directory →
Agencies we have documented, by city, county, or state.
- 2.Search the data explorer →
Every agency on the LexisNexis Community Crime Map, with a flag for whether its feed also lands in AVCC. Behind a passphrase for now.
- 3.Search the Atlas of Surveillance →
EFF's directory of what else your department runs. AVCC is one line on a longer list.
- 4.Search MuckRock (advanced) →
Find your department's agency page to see what other people have already requested and what came back.
Not listed? That does not mean your city is in the clear. The directory only includes agencies we have documented. If you cannot find yours, skip to Step 2 anyway and ask. The tools further down this page will help you find out for certain.
Step 2
Send the briefing to your city council and police chief.
This short document explains what the AVCC contract does, what the data-contribution addendum gives away, and what questions to put on the record. Attach it to the email below, or print it and bring it to a public meeting.
FinePrint AVCC/PSDEX Briefing. Free to copy, forward, and print.
Request a briefing customized to your city
A briefing with your city’s name on it lands harder than a generic one. We can build a version that names your department, shows how many of its records LexisNexis holds, and says how we know. The St. Louis Park, Minnesota version below is an example.
To request one, email act@fineprint.report with your city and state in the subject line. If your city is already in the directory we can usually turn it around quickly. If it is not, tell us what you know and we will check.
The email.
Pick the version that matches what you know about your city. If you are not sure which vendors your department uses, use the generic one; it asks. Copy it, fill in the brackets, attach the PDF, and send it to your council members, mayor, and police chief. Most cities list council email addresses on their website.
Subject: Who else can read [City]'s police records?
Dear [Council Member / Mayor / Chief], I live in [City / neighborhood], and I am writing because I recently learned that many police departments quietly share their local records with outside data platforms. The best known are LexisNexis Accurint Virtual Crime Center and Community Crime Map, SoundThinking's CrimeTracer, and the FBI's N-DEx system. Once a department connects, its reports, dispatch logs, and arrest records are copied into a database that other agencies, and in some cases private companies, can search. The attached two-page briefing explains how this works. I want to know whether our city is doing this, and if so, who we are sharing our local data with. The most sensitive records the city holds are narratives and details about crime victims, witnesses, vulnerable people, people in mental health crisis, domestic-violence survivors, and children. Those people did not choose to be in a police report. If their names, addresses, and statements are being copied to a national platform, our city no longer controls who reads them, and the people involved have no way to find out or opt out. It makes people trust police less. Frankly, knowing this makes me less likely to call the police or to help them. I do not think I am the only one. A city cannot ask people to trust its police while handing their records to systems it does not oversee. So I am asking: 1. Does [Police Department] share its records with LexisNexis, SoundThinking CrimeTracer, N-DEx, or any other outside data-sharing platform or vendor? Please name each one. 2. For each platform, what is shared? Does the feed include victim names, witness contact information, juvenile records, and incident narratives, or only arrests and charges? 3. Who can search it? Does the city know whether ICE or other federal agencies can access records our department contributes? ICE has access to LexisNexis, SoundThinking, and N-DEx databases. 4. What oversight exists? Did the council approve this sharing knowingly, has anyone done a privacy impact assessment, and who at the city can audit what data is shared, who is using it, and how it is being used? I would appreciate a written answer. I think it is very reasonable for all bulk police data sharing to be discussed and approved at City Council meetings, rather than treated as a routine IT purchase. Thank you, [Your name] [Your address or neighborhood] [Your email or phone] cc: act@fineprint.report
CC us
Please CC or BCC act@fineprint.report when you send it. That lets us track which cities have been asked, follow up on what officials say back, and publish the outcomes. Forward any reply to the same address.
Tracking outcomes
Cities that have been asked.
Every city where a resident has sent the briefing and copied us, and what happened next. Updated as replies come in.
| City | Asked | Status | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge, MA | 09/18/2026 | Acknowledgedas of 09/21/2026 | Public records request filed through MuckRock for the LexisNexis AVCC agreement and XML Addendum, a list of who can search Cambridge PD data in SoundThinking CrimeTracer, ICE interaction logs, and the 2026 surveillance report. The city's Law Department acknowledged it on 9/21/2026 and assigned a tracking number. |
If you’re unsure, or want to gather more
Get the documents yourself.
A public-records request to the police department will tell you whether the contract exists and what is in the upload. FinePrint files those; ask for one below. A direct question to your council member will tell you what oversight was applied, and that template is yours to send.
Public records request to the police department
We will file it for you. Tell us your city and we send the request, handle the back-and-forth with the records officer, and publish whatever comes back.
Oversight questions for your council member
Subject: Questions about [Department]'s LexisNexis AVCC contract
Dear [Member / Supervisor], I am writing to ask about [Department]'s contract with LexisNexis Risk Solutions for the Accurint Virtual Crime Center (AVCC). Records obtained from other jurisdictions show that these contracts typically include an AVCC XML Addendum granting LexisNexis an irrevocable license to use, aggregate, and redistribute data uploaded by the department, including incident reports, dispatch records, and information about victims and witnesses who were never charged with any crime. I would like to understand what public oversight has been applied to this arrangement. Specifically: 1. Was the AVCC XML Addendum, the data-contribution and licensing annex, included in the materials presented to the council, or only the base Schedule A? 2. Does the contract include any restriction on which data fields (for example: victim names, witness contact information, incident narratives) are included in the automated upload to LexisNexis? 3. Has [Department] received any documentation of which federal agencies, including ICE, have searched records contributed by [Department] through the LexisNexis platform? I am not asking you to take a position. I am asking what your office knows and what the public record shows. A written response would be appreciated. [Your name] [Your address or neighborhood]
A note on the LexisNexis opt-out
The LexisNexis consumer opt-out form does not remove your police-report data from PSDEX. It applies only to consumer products. Police data is governed by the agency’s contract, not by your consent. Filing the opt-out reduces your exposure in the consumer-side products, but the only way to stop police data from flowing is at the city level, which is why this page starts there.
Council members who want the long version can read Before You Vote on AVCC, our guide for elected officials.
Have something to share?
Documents, records returns, council responses, and tips are welcome.
- Email: tips@fineprint.report
- Signal: Shawn.201 (for sensitive documents, reach out by email first without the document attached)