Despite Controversy, Federal Wiretaps On the Rise

coondoggie writes with a report that "Federal and state requests for court permission to intercept or wiretap electronic communications increased 34% in 2010 over 2009 with California, New York, and New Jersey accounting for 68% of all wire taps approved by state judges. According to the 2010 Wiretap Report, released today by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC) the most frequently noted location in wiretap requests was 'portable device,' a category that includes cellular telephones and digital pagers."

Comments

FUD

[U8MyData]

I was about to write a comment last night on another story, but I thought better and maybe shouldn't have. At what point do the citizens of this country exercise their rights? We have allowed the government or a collection of very messed up people to errode everything we have stood for since the beginning of this country in the name a national security against an enemy that is relatively nameless, faceless, and, shall I say, low rent. These guys are ruthless, but they are not particularly as dangerous as many would like us to believe. I'd love to see a group of radicalized Hell's Angles take on a grounp of radicalized Taliban in an Octogon. I'd pay money to see that. I am tired, very tired, of living in fear of the unknown and improbable. FUD, as everyone knows, motivates people in ways that is akin to manipulation, but I pretty much guarantee there will be a point where enough is enough. Can we get back to a civilized nation or is it too late? For the sticking your head in the sand notion, that won't work because they *will* find a reason to make that suspicious and pull it out to see what you're "hiding."

Re:FUD

[argStyopa]

Sadly, one of the defenses against FUD is willful ignorance, and it's not a bad one.

Bear with me please while I explain.

I grew up in a rural MN town, and shook my head in patronizing amazement that these poor ignorant farmers would sit and have coffee and chat about local crap. It was always variations on a few simple themes, about their neighbors, sports, the weather, local events and scandals, etc..
As a self-identified 'world citizen' long before such was cool, I would spend hours poring over world news in the newspapers. I generally skipped the local stuff (and never 'bothered' with the local paper at all) - who cared about such trivialities when the Cold War was going on? (this was in the 1970-1980s). Momentous things were happening in the shift of world geopolitics! National policy changes portended significant changes in the way our government works and how things will be in the next few years!

Now in middle age, I've discovered something. Willful ignorance works. I used to get really worked-up about politics and policy. But more and more, I just find all politicians (even the ones I allegedly agree with) tiresome and identical. The only people who reach the level of serious political involvement on a state and national stage seem to be so deeply co-opted by their party affiliations and fundraising requirements that they have no principles that remain to exceed their self-interest.

(And yes, for the readers who are Democrats: it's *clearly* Republicans who are whores to big business while Dem politicians are simply hard-working joes doing their best in difficult circumstances. For Republicans, the Dems are either pollyannish and ignorant, or whores to organized Labor/Lawyers, while Republican politicians are the only ones who actually care about their country. (rollseyes))

What I've found is that by ignoring international news, ignoring national news, not watching a single minute of any news channel, and only pretty much involving myself in local community issues including volunteering with the Boy Scouts, local faith organizations, and our schools - I'm one HELL of a lot happier most of the time.

I've (re)discovered what those 'ignorant' Norwegian farmers knew all those years ago either by choice or instinct: Nothing really changes. The government's always going to heck. The world is always going to heck. The grossly wealthy continue to manipulate the system for their benefit in collusion with the politicians, and will continue to screw everyone else for their own ends. One can either get worked up and fulminate about it 24/7, or one can go about ones' business and try to be happy, raise a balanced, intelligent, contributive family.

I have a friend who has always been intensely political. Every conversation with him is still an interesting challenge (we're on the opposite sides of the political fence) that forces me to question my assumptions and evaluate my givens, so to speak. For that I value his friendship tremendously. But more and more often, I find the conversations pointless and exhausting. We've been arguing over the same points, without serious changes in position, for nearly 30 years. In point of fact, we agree about most of the essentials of life - the importance of education, the things that are really important - but if you heard us talk you'd assume we must despise each other because (from what I see) the idea of an intellectual argument without hatred behind it is incomprehensible.

Certainly, I could just be furiously rationalizing; I could be trying to make myself feel better over my inability to care about the budget crisis, the presidential elections, or world events in general. I recognize that this may be a response to a sense of impotence, certainly. Maybe.

But again, I'm one heck of a lot happier. I'm not sure there's more to it than that. At least, not as sure as I used to be.

Be glad they're reporting them.

[GJSchaller]

1) The number of REQUESTED taps is on the rise. If they didn't give a shit, they wouldn't be requesting them, they'd just do it and not bother getting permission. At some level, the system is still working. (Most likely because without that request, anything they collect will be thrown out as inadmissible, and their target will walk.)

2) From TFA: "The state wiretap with the most intercepts was conducted in Queens County, New York, where a 62-day wiretap in a corruption investigation..." meaning they are targeting government officials or public servants. Privacy should NOT be expected for someone serving in those roles, if they are doing something wrong on the job. (Filming police, anyone?)

The knee-jerk reaction to "wiretapping" is "bad!" - but the knee-jerk reaction to a citizen recording a public figure is "Good!" The standard isn't that clear cut, especially when the conditions (i.e. - the person being recorded is a public figure) are the same on both sides.

This is lazy police work

[Whuffo]

Getting out and talking to informants, questioning suspects, developing leads, etc - it's a lot of hard work and leads to tons of paperwork. Technology allows our finest to do their jobs quickly and easily (if somewhat sloppily).

Here's how it works: stumble upon a criminal; a drug user for example. Stumbling upon them is how most of them get caught; usually in a motor vehicle stop. Now, get their cell phone records; cell phones are great because the cell carriers will hand it over without a quibble or warrant. Now you've got a list of that criminal's associates; get their cell phone records too and you can probably figure out who some of the other users are and who their dealer might be.

It's all educated guesses and even though they sometimes kick down the wrong door or arrest the wrong person, it leads to more good arrests with a lot less work. Law enforcement LOVES these wiretaps and they'll keep asking for more, more, more.

Of course, that "computers are always right" thing crops up. And you know that phone numbers are recycled; imagine that drug user that got popped a while back had a cell phone and since the bill didn't get paid they shut it off and now that phone number is recycled and it's your new phone number. Happy dreams; "checks and balances" got thrown overboard a while back.