OFF THE WIRE
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.