Do local police snoop on cell phone data?
Police departments are increasingly able to scoop up large amounts of cellphone data using new technologies, including cell tower dumps and mobile devices known as Stingrays. They use the data in active investigations to help solve crimes.
USA Today published a story this week highlighting how police departments nationwide are using tactics similar to the National Security Agency: Cellphone data spying – It’s not just the NSA
The newspaper reviewed records from more than 125 police agencies in 33 states. It discovered that about one in four law-enforcement agencies have used a tactic known as a “tower dump,” which gives police data about the identity, activity and location of any phone that connects to the targeted cellphone towers over a set span of time, usually an hour or two. A typical dump covers multiple towers, and wireless providers, and can net information from thousands of phones.
At least 25 police departments own a Stingray, a suitcase-size device that costs as much as $400,000 and acts as a fake cell tower. The system, typically installed in a vehicle so it can be moved into any neighborhood, tricks all nearby phones into connecting to it and feeding data to police. In some states, the devices are available to any local police department via state surveillance units. The federal government funds most of the purchases, via anti-terror grants.
Does the Paso Robles Police Department intercept bulk cellphone data?
A reader asked the Paso Robles Daily News this question after seeing the USA Today article. The answer is no, according to Paso Robles Police Lt. Ty Lewis.
“We don’t employ the tactics referenced in the news article,” he says. ” We don’t have the funding or crime analysis experts for such an undertaking. These kind of investigations are very expensive, time intensive, and ultimately reserved for very serious crimes. The PRPD does not have “Stingray” equipment and I’m not aware of any local municipalities in our area that do.”
“However, that’s not to say we don’t use cell phone data to help solve crimes. We have written search warrants to obtain cell phone records which contain evidence of criminal activity. We have seized cellular phones and by court order retrieved contents for analysis. Certainly cellular technology can help an investigation, like many other investigative tools.”
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