The next NSA? Police departments under scrutiny for phone, license plate surveillance

The NSA isn’t the only government agency raising concerns about electronic privacy. Local police departments are coming under similar scrutiny – not only for using spying technology, but for hiding their use from the public. At least 25 police departments now use what is known as "Stingray," a briefcase-sized box that swallows up cell phone data within a mile radius. More than one in three large police departments are also using license-plate readers, which can record every plate -- even on a four-lane highway – from vehicles going at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour. The technology is a remarkable crime-fighting tool, according to former D.C. homicide detective Rod Wheeler. "Not just automobile thefts, but homicides, all kinds of robberies, so the technology is definitely something that's an asset to us," he said. But in a May 1 article, Wired magazine reported that Harris Corporation, maker of the Stingray, and Vigilant Solutions, which sells license-plate readers, holds its police department buyers to vows of secrecy. But the two technologies raise broader questions about 4th Amendment protections. Last year, then-Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued an opinion on license-plate readers that said data cannot be collected unless directly related to a criminal case. The opinion was not binding. Many jurisdictions in Virginia and beyond still retain the data for years...more