San Francisco Police Department

The San Francisco Police Department used LexisNexis Accurint from at least several years before 2023 until June 30, 2023, when it terminated the relationship and switched to Thomson Reuters CLEAR. The transition was documented in SFPD Department Bulletin 23-100: ‘Effective July 1, 2023, the Department is transitioning from LexisNexis Accurint to Thomson Reuters Clear for Law Enforcement.’

SFPD’s use of Accurint appears to have been as an investigative search tool — officers were required to enter a case number when conducting searches, suggesting it was used for active investigations rather than passive background data contribution. Whether SFPD also had a PSDEX data contribution agreement during that period is not confirmed.

The termination matters for two reasons. First, it shows agencies can and do exit LexisNexis relationships. Second, Thomson Reuters CLEAR — the replacement — does not participate in PSDEX, so San Francisco’s switch was meaningful from a data-contribution standpoint. San Francisco has had sanctuary policies since 1989. Whether any SFPD data contributed during the Accurint years remains in LexisNexis’s database under the irrevocable license terms standard in AVCC contracts is an open question worth pursuing.