Cellphone spying technology being used throughout Northern California..
http://youtu.be/UL7OlD5GrdI
At
least seven law enforcement agencies in California are using
controversial technology that allows them to secretly collect data from
cellphones and track people, News10 has learned.
Hundreds of
pages of documents, from grant applications to purchase orders, show
that the technology has been here for years and it's been used in dozens
of arrests. In Oakland, a device called a StingRay allows police to
track people and collect real-time data from every cell phone within a
certain radius. The city's Targeted Enforcement Task Force II used a
Stingray to make 19 arrests in 2009, according to an Oakland Police
Criminal Investigation Division report.
MORE: 9 Calif. law enforcement agencies connected to cellphone spying technology
StingRays
are being paid for mostly by Homeland Security grant money distributed
by the California Emergency Management Agency, under programs such as
the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) or the State Homeland
Security Program (SHSP). Grant applications from several agencies show
local law enforcement are justifying the purchase of StingRay technology
as an anti-terrorism tool, but it's being used to apprehend and
prosecute suspects in routine crimes, from robberies to homicides.
None of the 19 arrests made using the StingRay in Oakland in 2009 were related to terrorism.
Linda
Lye, Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Northern California, has been
challenging the federal government to unseal StingRay related records
for several years. She's troubled by the new revelations showing the
technology is in the hands of local law enforcement across the state.
"It's
very surprising to learn that many local law enforcement agencies are
using these devices," Lye said. "The public and criminal defendants
don't have any idea what guidelines govern their use."
Harris
Corporation, the Florida company that makes StingRays, includes
non-disclosure agreements in their contracts. They say the technology
can only be discussed with sworn law enforcement agents. Even their
marketing materials are heavily guarded.
News10 contacted several law enforcement agencies about StingRays. None would discuss the devices.
