These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a contract between Sample CSI, Inc. ("SampleCSI," "we," "us") and the agency or organization using SampleCSI ("Agency," "you"). They govern the samplecsi.com website, the SampleCSI mobile and web applications, and related services (the "Services").
SampleCSI is a separate company. Our parent company is SampleServe, Inc. SampleServe is not a party to these Terms. SampleFire, also a SampleCSI product, has its own terms at samplefire.net/terms.
By using the Services, you agree to these Terms. If you use the Services for an Agency, you confirm that you are authorized to bind it. If the Agency has a signed agreement with SampleCSI (an "Agency Agreement"), the Agency Agreement controls where it conflicts with these Terms.
1. Definitions
- Agency Data: evidence records, case information, photos, video, notes, custody history, and other content submitted to the Services by or for the Agency.
- Authorized Users: Agency employees, officers, and contractors the Agency allows to use the Services.
- Audit Log: the append-only record of actions taken on Agency Data.
- AI Features: optional features of the Services that use artificial intelligence.
- Order Form: a quote, purchase order, or ordering document that states the plan, term, and fees.
2. Use of the Services
2.1 License. Subject to these Terms and payment of fees, SampleCSI grants the Agency a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Services during the subscription term for its official purposes.
2.2 Changes. We may update the Services. We will give reasonable advance notice before removing a feature that materially reduces the core functions of a paid plan, unless the change is needed for security or legal reasons.
2.3 Pilots and betas. Pilot, trial, and beta features are provided without warranty, may change, and may end at any time. Pilot Agency Data is protected the same as all other Agency Data.
2.4 Eligibility. Authorized Users must be at least 18 years old.
3. Accounts and acceptable use
3.1 Account security. The Agency is responsible for its Authorized Users, for granting and removing access promptly when personnel change roles or leave, and for keeping credentials and devices secure. Tell us right away at security@samplecsi.com if you suspect unauthorized access.
3.2 Acceptable use. The Agency and its Authorized Users will not:
- Use the Services except for lawful purposes within the Agency's legal authority.
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or try to extract source code, except where the law does not allow this restriction.
- Get around security controls, access another agency's data, or try to alter or delete Audit Log entries.
- Upload malware or interfere with the Services.
- Access the Services by automated means other than our documented APIs.
- Resell the Services or provide them to third parties, except as an Agency Agreement allows.
- Use AI Features to identify people through facial recognition, predict criminal behavior, or make decisions about individuals.
We may suspend access to protect the Services, the Agency, or Agency Data. We will limit any suspension to what is necessary.
4. Agency Data
4.1 Ownership. The Agency owns all Agency Data. SampleCSI owns the Services and its technology.
4.2 Our use. The Agency allows SampleCSI to host, process, transmit, and display Agency Data only as needed to provide, secure, and support the Services. We will not sell Agency Data, use it for advertising, or use it to train AI models.
4.3 Separate systems. Agency Data is stored in SampleCSI's own platform and database, separate from the systems of our parent company, SampleServe, Inc. We will not share Agency Data with SampleServe or any other agency.
4.4 Service Data. We may use data about how the Services operate (for example, uptime, sync success rates, and feature usage) to maintain and improve them. Service Data will not identify the Agency, its personnel, or any person in Agency Data.
4.5 Legal demands. If a third party demands Agency Data from us (by subpoena, court order, public records request, or otherwise), we will refer the requester to the Agency and notify the Agency before responding, unless the law forbids notice. We disclose Agency Data only as legally required.
4.6 Records custodian testimony. If a SampleCSI employee is asked to testify or give a declaration about the Services in a proceeding involving the Agency, we will cooperate. The Agency will reimburse reasonable costs, unless the Agency Agreement says otherwise.
5. Agency responsibilities
5.1 Legal authority. The Agency is responsible for having legal authority to collect and record Agency Data, including information about victims, suspects, witnesses, and minors.
5.2 Evidence procedures. The Services help document evidence and custody. The Agency remains responsible for its evidence collection, packaging, storage, and handling procedures, for training its personnel, and for complying with applicable law, accreditation standards, and court rules.
5.3 Admissibility. SampleCSI does not guarantee that any record, photo, or custody history will be admitted as evidence. Admissibility depends on the Agency's procedures and the court's rulings.
5.4 Retention, disclosure, and discovery. The Agency is responsible for its records retention schedules, legal holds, public records responses, and discovery obligations. The Services include export tools to support these obligations.
5.5 Offline use and sync. Evidence can be collected offline. Authorized Users must sync their devices when a connection returns. Custody transfers require a network connection so that only one custodian holds an item at a time. SampleCSI is not responsible for data lost on a device that is damaged, lost, or reset before it syncs.
6. Electronic signatures and records
The Agency agrees that signatures, biometric confirmations, and scans captured in the Services are intended to be electronic signatures and electronic records under the federal ESIGN Act and state Uniform Electronic Transactions Act laws, where those laws apply. The Agency is responsible for confirming that electronic records meet its own legal and policy requirements.
7. Artificial intelligence features
7.1 Agency choice. AI Features are off until an Agency administrator turns them on. The Agency can turn them off at any time.
7.2 How AI Features handle Agency Data. Agency Data sent to an AI Feature is used only to produce a result for that Agency. We will not enable an AI provider unless its terms prohibit training on Agency Data and limit retention. A list of subprocessors is available on request.
7.3 Review required. AI output may be incomplete or wrong. Authorized Users must review AI output before adding it to a record. AI Features do not make investigative, charging, custody, or evidentiary decisions, and do not alter original photos or the Audit Log.
7.4 New uses. We will notify Agency administrators before introducing an AI Feature that uses Agency Data in a new way.
8. Accessibility
SampleCSI aims for its website and applications to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. Report accessibility issues to info@samplecsi.com.
9. Security and CJIS
We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards described in our Privacy Policy and security documentation. Agency Data is stored in the United States. Any requirements for processing Criminal Justice Information, including a CJIS Security Addendum, must be addressed in an Agency Agreement before that processing begins.
10. Security incidents
We will notify the Agency without undue delay after confirming unauthorized access to Agency Data, give the Agency the information it needs for its own notifications, and take reasonable steps to contain and fix the incident.
11. Third-party hardware and services
Tablets, phones, label printers, labels, and integrations from other companies are governed by those companies' terms and warranties. SampleCSI may recommend or resell hardware, but is not responsible for its performance beyond any warranty we give in writing.
12. Fees and payment
Fees are set in the Order Form. Unless it says otherwise, fees are invoiced annually in advance and due within 30 days. Fees do not include taxes; tax-exempt Agencies should provide exemption documentation.
13. Term and termination
13.1 Term. Subscriptions run for the term in the Order Form and renew only as it says.
13.2 Termination for cause. Either party may end these Terms for a material breach that is not fixed within 30 days after written notice.
13.3 Data export and return. For 90 days after termination, the Agency may export all Agency Data, including photos, custody history, and Audit Logs, in standard formats. After that, we will delete Agency Data within a reasonable time, unless the Agency asks in writing for its return or the law requires us to keep it. Deletion is subject to any legal hold the Agency tells us about before deletion.
14. Confidentiality
Each party will protect the other's confidential information with reasonable care and use it only to carry out these Terms. Agency Data is the Agency's confidential information. These obligations do not override any public records law that applies to the Agency.
15. Intellectual property and patents
15.1 Ownership. SampleCSI and its licensors own all rights in the Services and documentation. Our licensors include our parent company, SampleServe, Inc., which holds patents on digital chain-of-custody technology used in the Services. SampleCSI is licensed under U.S. Patent Nos. 10,198,676 and 10,281,367. See sampleserve.com/patents.
15.2 Feedback. If the Agency gives us suggestions about the Services, we may use them without obligation.
16. Warranties and disclaimers
During a paid term, the Services will work substantially as described in their documentation. If they do not, we will make reasonable efforts to fix the problem. If we cannot, the Agency may end the affected Services and receive a pro-rated refund of prepaid fees. Except for that promise and to the extent the law allows, the Services are provided "as is," and we disclaim implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
17. Limitation of liability
To the extent the law allows, neither party is liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages. Each party's total liability is limited to the fees paid or payable in the 12 months before the claim. These limits do not apply to payment obligations, breach of Section 3.2, a party's gross negligence, willful misconduct, or fraud, or liability that cannot be limited by law.
18. Indemnification
SampleCSI will defend the Agency against third-party claims that the Services infringe a U.S. patent, copyright, or trademark, and pay resulting damages and costs. To the extent the law allows, the Agency is responsible for claims arising from Agency Data or its use of the Services in violation of these Terms. Nothing in these Terms requires a public Agency to indemnify where its governing law forbids it.
19. Public agency terms
- Public records. SampleCSI understands the Agency may be subject to public records laws. We may mark our pricing, security documentation, and technical materials as confidential or trade secret for review under those laws.
- Funding. If the Agency's governing body does not fund a future term, the Agency may end these Terms at the end of the funded period, with written notice and without penalty.
- Immunity. Nothing in these Terms waives any immunity available to the Agency.
- Governing law and venue. For public Agencies, the law of the Agency's state governs these Terms, and disputes are heard in that state's courts.
- No arbitration or class waiver applies to public Agencies.
20. Other customers: governing law and disputes
For customers that are not public Agencies, Michigan law governs these Terms. The parties will first try to resolve any dispute informally for 60 days after written notice, then by binding arbitration by the American Arbitration Association in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, on an individual basis. Either party may go to court for an injunction to stop misuse of its intellectual property or unauthorized access.
21. General
- Export. The Agency will not export or use the Services in violation of U.S. export or sanctions laws.
- Events beyond our control. Neither party is liable for delays caused by events beyond its reasonable control.
- Assignment. Neither party may transfer these Terms without the other's consent, except in a merger or sale of substantially all assets where the new owner agrees to be bound.
- Changes. We may update these Terms. Material changes that reduce Agency rights take effect at the next renewal unless the Agency agrees sooner.
- Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, any Order Form, and any Agency Agreement are the entire agreement on this subject.
- Notices. Send legal notices to legal@samplecsi.com and to Sample CSI, Inc., 12935 SW Bay Shore Dr., Suite 200, Traverse City, MI 49684.
22. Contact
Questions about these Terms: legal@samplecsi.com. Support: info@samplecsi.com.