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Police Are Using Phone Tracking as a Routine Tool

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/u...privacy-fears.html?_r=2&partner=MYWAY&ei=5065


By ERIC LICHTBLAU

Published: March 31, 2012

WASHINGTON — Law enforcement tracking of cellphones, once the province mainly of federal agents, has become a powerful and widely used surveillance tool for local police officials, with hundreds of departments, large and small, often using it aggressively with little or no court oversight, documents show.
A GPS tracker. The Supreme Court recently ruled that such a device placed on a suspect's car was an unreasonable search.
The practice has become big business for cellphone companies, too, with a handful of carriers marketing a catalog of “surveillance fees” to police departments to determine a suspect’s location, trace phone calls and texts or provide other services. Some departments log dozens of traces a month for both emergencies and routine investigations.

With cellphones ubiquitous, the police call phone tracing a valuable weapon in emergencies like child abductions and suicide calls and investigations in drug cases and murders. One police training manual describes cellphones as “the virtual biographer of our daily activities,” providing a hunting ground for learning contacts and travels.

But civil liberties advocates say the wider use of cell tracking raises legal and constitutional questions, particularly when the police act without judicial orders. While many departments require warrants to use phone tracking in nonemergencies, others claim broad discretion to get the records on their own, according to 5,500 pages of internal records obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union from 205 police departments nationwide.
Looks to me that police departments are getting mighty bold, using lame excuses of safety and public good to justify their searching through people's phones. This is going to get out of hand if their aren't taken to court over it.
 
It seems many civil liberties have fallen on the sword of safety.
 
It seems many civil liberties have fallen on the sword of safety.

While that's true, it seems Republicans and conservatives didn't have a problem with all this during the Bush years. I remember many conservatives posting "Well, if you haven't done anything wrong, you don't have anything to worry about.".

That type of mentality has just rolled over again and again. I doubt we will see much change even if a GOP is elected. Once you give the power to authorities to do this type of thing, they either won't give it up or they will ask for more.

I'll agree it's sad, but this seed was planted over a decade ago and is blossoming into what we see now.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/u...privacy-fears.html?_r=2&partner=MYWAY&ei=5065



Looks to me that police departments are getting mighty bold, using lame excuses of safety and public good to justify their searching through people's phones. This is going to get out of hand if their aren't taken to court over it.

Of course they do. Government assumes control of new technology, it doesn't ask permission to use it. How do you think they even start to believe that putting GPS on cars is OK? They have the tech and they can and at worst they say "it will be tied up in court and in the interm we can use this", blah.

You ever wonder what the NSA is doing? Lots worse than the cops. We don't live in a controlled Republic, we are falling fast down the hole of fascism.
 
While that's true, it seems Republicans and conservatives didn't have a problem with all this during the Bush years. I remember many conservatives posting "Well, if you haven't done anything wrong, you don't have anything to worry about.".

That type of mentality has just rolled over again and again. I doubt we will see much change even if a GOP is elected. Once you give the power to authorities to do this type of thing, they either won't give it up or they will ask for more.

I'll agree it's sad, but this seed was planted over a decade ago and is blossoming into what we see now.

The question is whether it is reversable.
 
The question is whether it is reversable.

It is reversable, however, it's unlikely to happen. For it to happen, there needs to be a populace that holds it's politicians accountable for what they do. That's not happening now, because hyperpartisan politics is the norm.

People would rather keep voting in "their side", rather than letting the other side come in and change things. all the while "their side" continues the norm of eroding freedoms for the sake of security. And if the other side goes up against a candidate on that issue, the incumbant just says "See, look they want us to be weak so we get attacked by <insert scary group here>".
 
While that's true, it seems Republicans and conservatives didn't have a problem with all this during the Bush years. I remember many conservatives posting "Well, if you haven't done anything wrong, you don't have anything to worry about.".
That type of mentality has just rolled over again and again. I doubt we will see much change even if a GOP is elected. Once you give the power to authorities to do this type of thing, they either won't give it up or they will ask for more.

I'll agree it's sad, but this seed was planted over a decade ago and is blossoming into what we see now.
You'll never see a post like that from me. The wiretaps were from foreign phone calls of known terrorists, and I believe that had to get some kind of permission. I think this is different enough to be concerned about.
 
It is reversable, however, it's unlikely to happen. For it to happen, there needs to be a populace that holds it's politicians accountable for what they do. That's not happening now, because hyperpartisan politics is the norm.

People would rather keep voting in "their side", rather than letting the other side come in and change things. all the while "their side" continues the norm of eroding freedoms for the sake of security. And if the other side goes up against a candidate on that issue, the incumbant just says "See, look they want us to be weak so we get attacked by <insert scary group here>".
That's because they believe the otherside is the one eroding liberties.
 
But will they use it as a 'lost phone' finding tool when you can't lay your hands on it?

Yes, another free service from you local LE. :mrgreen:
 
livingunderrock.jpg
 
While that's true, it seems Republicans and conservatives didn't have a problem with all this during the Bush years. I remember many conservatives posting "Well, if you haven't done anything wrong, you don't have anything to worry about.".

That type of mentality has just rolled over again and again. I doubt we will see much change even if a GOP is elected. Once you give the power to authorities to do this type of thing, they either won't give it up or they will ask for more.

I'll agree it's sad, but this seed was planted over a decade ago and is blossoming into what we see now.

It wasn't right then. It isn't right when any party does these things.
 
they shouldn't be allowed to do this without a warrant.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/u...privacy-fears.html?_r=2&partner=MYWAY&ei=5065



Looks to me that police departments are getting mighty bold, using lame excuses of safety and public good to justify their searching through people's phones. This is going to get out of hand if their aren't taken to court over it.


Judging by the article its not just law enforcement trying to squash your privacy rights its also private companies aiding the government in squashing your privacy rights. I think we as consumers should boycott these companies or at least the products that allow these companies to the government in infringing on our privacy rights.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/u...privacy-fears.html?_r=2&partner=MYWAY&ei=5065

Looks to me that police departments are getting mighty bold, using lame excuses of safety and public good to justify their searching through people's phones. This is going to get out of hand if their aren't taken to court over it.

Using a cellphone's GPS to track someone? I have no problem with that.

You can legally do that -- why shouldn't law enforcement be able to do the same thing?

http://cellphonetrackers.org/
 
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It is reversable, however, it's unlikely to happen. For it to happen, there needs to be a populace that holds it's politicians accountable for what they do. That's not happening now, because hyperpartisan politics is the norm.

People would rather keep voting in "their side", rather than letting the other side come in and change things. all the while "their side" continues the norm of eroding freedoms for the sake of security. And if the other side goes up against a candidate on that issue, the incumbant just says "See, look they want us to be weak so we get attacked by <insert scary group here>".

This would have been a great comment if not for the one you posted just prior to it.

While that's true, it seems Republicans and conservatives didn't have a problem with all this during the Bush years. I remember many conservatives posting "Well, if you haven't done anything wrong, you don't have anything to worry about.".

I agree with you that voters largely vote for their side and anything that goes wrong they will blame the other side. Just like you did at first.
 
They been doing this for years. It started under Bush and when the iPhone became "popular".. since it is so easy to hack.



According to you, phone technology was never used by the police/government against private citizens before Bush. Yeah, sure.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/u...privacy-fears.html?_r=2&partner=MYWAY&ei=5065



Looks to me that police departments are getting mighty bold, using lame excuses of safety and public good to justify their searching through people's phones. This is going to get out of hand if their aren't taken to court over it.

We have common ground here. What police departments are doing violates the 4th Amendment against unreasonable searches. This is one of the reasons I refuse to buy a cell phone. It's not that I have anything to hide. I don't. But my privacy is none of the government's damn business.
 
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They been doing this for years. It started under Bush and when the iPhone became "popular".. since it is so easy to hack.

It's called jailbreaking. BTW, I called Bush the other day to get your phone records.
 
According to you, phone technology was never used by the police/government against private citizens before Bush. Yeah, sure.

Hey Pete thinks Bush is the Devil Incarnate, so no one can mess with you like Bush could. I mean Clinton's possession of all those FBI files was accidental.
 
We have common ground here. What police departments are doing violates the 4th Amendment against unreasonable searches. This is one of the reasons I refuse to buy a cell phone. It's not that I have anything to hide. I don't. But my privacy is none of the government's damn business.

It is amazing you haven't purchased a cell phone yet. Actually, amazing to me because I don't know many people without one. It is none of their business what you are doing with your phone..
 
It is amazing you haven't purchased a cell phone yet. Actually, amazing to me because I don't know many people without one. It is none of their business what you are doing with your phone..

Hey, I give Dan credit for having an electric guitar. :mrgreen: He just doesn't realize that the FBI can listen to every song he plays down the powerline; they even know when he plays a wrong note.
 
Using a cellphone's GPS to track someone? I have no problem with that.

You can legally do that -- why shouldn't law enforcement be able to do the same thing?

Cell phone tracking | Cell phone GPS tracker

It is more dubious than you having your GPS on and being tracked (many people keep them off for power reasons as well as privacy)

From the article:

In cities in Nevada, North Carolina and other states, police departments have gotten wireless carriers to track cellphone signals back to cell towers as part of nonemergency investigations to identify all the callers using a particular tower, records show.

In California, state prosecutors advised local police departments on ways to get carriers to “clone” a phone and download text messages while it is turned off.
 
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