Local Police Might Be Collecting Your Cell Phone Data and Hiding the Fact in Court

FBI tells local Police to hide phone tracking machines used without warrants Texas Insider Report: AUSTINTexas  Your local police may use a controversial piece of technology ominously referred to as a Stingray to track what you do on your cell phone but the FBI is taking pains to make sure you never find out. The agency encourages police to find additional evidence to support the information it gathers without a warrant via the Stingray so that the Stingray technology never comes up in court. Though Stingray use in the U.S. has largely existed without much public knowledge that scenario is quickly changing. In March an appellate court ruled for the first time that its illegal for police to use stingrays without first getting a warrant. Its no secret that law enforcement agencies scattered around the country use such devices known as IMSCI catchers or colloquially Stingrays" which mimic cellphone towers and collect data like phone numbers and location from everyone in their vicinity. But thats not because the FBI isnt trying to hide that fact. The agency is so keen on keeping the devices from the public that it asks local police departments to sign nondisclosure agreements about their stingrays leading to some police officers or departments to try and withdraw from the court cases that rely on stingrays for evidence. But thanks to an open records request from the investigative journalism nonprofit Oklahoma Watch theres finally evidence thats the FBIs specific plan. In a 2014 memo from F.B.I. Special Agent in Charge James Finch to Oklahoma City Police Department Chief William City the bureau issued very specific guidelines.

Information obtained through use of this equipment is for LEAD PURPOSES ONLY and may not be used as primary evidence in any affidavits hearings or trials. This equipment provides general location information about a cellular device and your agency understands it is required to use additional and independent investigative means and methods such as historical cellular analysis that would be admissible at trial to corroborate information concerning the location of the target obtained through use of this equipment."

The memo reflects the controversial practice known as parallel construction in which a law enforcement agency collects evidence on a suspect without first bothering with a warrant as that evidence likely wouldnt be admissible as evidence in court. Armed with that information agents or officers build a strong enough case with legally admissible evidence that they dont need to ever tell the court about that earlier information. A 2013 Reuters report on the practice for example found that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency routinely receives intelligence from various intelligence services including the National Security Agency (NSA) about where to find a suspected criminal and that the DEA would then be expected to work backwards from there.

Youd be told only Be at a certain truck stop at a certain time and look for a certain vehicle.

And so wed alert the state police to find an excuse to stop that vehicle and then have a drug dog search it" said one DEA agent .

This is the first time I have seen language this explicitly calling for parallel construction to conceal evidence derived from Stingray use" said Nate Wessler a staff attorney at the ACLU who specializes in stingray use.

This goes the outrageous extra step of ordering police to actually engage in evidence laundering" he said. As a result defendants are denied their right to challenge potentially unconstitutional surveillance and courts are deprived of an opportunity to curb law enforcement abuses."

The FBI didnt respond to request for comment.