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According to the Washington Post all federal law enforcement agencies will need to get a warrant before using a Stingray. (Actual Policy Statement).
The Justice Department unveiled a policy Thursday that will require its law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant to deploy cellphone-tracking devices in criminal investigations and inform judges when they plan to use them.
The department's new policy, announced by Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, should increase transparency around the use of the controversial technology by the FBI and other Justice Department agencies.
... The new policy waives the warrant requirement for exigent circumstances. These include the need to protect human life "or avert serious injury," prevent the imminent destruction of evidence, the hot pursuit of a fleeing felon, or the prevention of escape by a convicted fugitive from justice.
The FBI had imposed their own internal warrant requirement back in April.
But the policy does not apply to State, and Local agencies that have been given Stingrays with instructions to keep them secret, even to the extent of dismissing charges rather than admit some evidence was gathered by questionable legal means.
So will ill gotten information now flow in reverse, from local to federal authorities? Will the Feds start practicing "Parallel Construction" using, but hiding, the information supplied by local police?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 04 2015, @12:51PM
If they need a warrant how can the local po-po listen in on their GF's phone calls OR eavesdrop on the mayor[or for the mayor] for some blackmail intel?
This would legitimize the stingray's usage and we can't have that.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday September 04 2015, @08:01PM
If they need a warrant how can the local po-po listen in on their GF's phone calls OR eavesdrop on the mayor[or for the mayor] for some blackmail intel?
This would legitimize the stingray's usage and we can't have that.
According to TFA, Stingrays can not access phone audio:
The devices are boxes about the size of a small suitcase that can help investigators locate suspects by identifying signals coming from their cellphones. But the machines, which simulate cell towers, also sweep up data from innocent bystanders in the suspect’s vicinity.
The data captured by the devices are serial numbers from cellphones, not GPS coordinates. The technology used by federal authorities does not capture e-mails, texts, contact lists, images or any other data from the phone, officials said.
However, this information is in disagreement with the Wiki Article on Stingrays [wikipedia.org], which clearly states that full audio can be recorded, as well as any data sent via the phone.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.