San Bernardino Sheriff Has Used Stingray Over 300 Times With No Warrant

An anonymous reader writes: After a records request by Ars, the sheriff in San Bernardino County (SBSD) sent an example of a template for a "pen register and trap and trace order" application. The county attorneys claim what they sent was a warrant application template, even though it is not. The application cites no legal authority on which to base the request. "This is astonishing because it suggests the absence of legal authorization (because if there were clear legal authorization you can bet the government would be citing it)," Fred Cate, a law professor at Indiana University, told Ars. "Alternatively, it might suggest that the government just doesn't care about legal authorization. Either interpretation is profoundly troubling," he added. Further documents reveal that the agency has used a Stingray 303 times between January 1, 2014 and May 7, 2015.

Comments

Are they LEOs

[JonathanR]

Is an apparent law enforcement officer (or group thereof) who is conducting their work illegally, really a law enforcement officer?

Re:Are they LEOs

[Jack Griffin]

This mentality is not uncommon across government, especially the higher one looks.

It is common across humankind, or even all animals in general. Looking out for yourself is a survival trait we all have. The whole idea that there is a Boogeyman (police/govt/terrorists/bankers/Bill Gate etc) is a myth. We're all the same, Milgram proved that. Given similar circumstances you or I would behave the same way, so let's stop perpetuating the stereotypes.

Re:Are they LEOs

[MrKaos]

At a 2008 "distressed investors" forum, Ron Bloom, appointed Senior Counselor to President Obama for Manufacturing Policy in September 2009, said:

"Generally speaking, we get the joke. We know that the free market is nonsense. We know that the whole point is to game the system, to beat the market. Or at least find someone who will pay you a lot of money, 'cause they're convinced that there is a free lunch. We know this is largely about power, that it's an adults-only, no-limit game. We kind of agree with Mao, that political power comes largely from the barrel of a gun."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Moderated funny, of course because if you don't laugh about it, you'll cry. Big belly laughs instead of uncontrolled sobbing at realising that freedom and democracy were stolen right out from under our noses.

Isn't this the thing the Second amendment was supposed to prevent? By all rights the US Government should be afraid of the American people, however this kind of thing shows they're not. Not that I have anything against firearm ownership however, I think more people should be armed with pens - they're more powerful tool where the state is concerned.

Re:Are they LEOs

[Zumbs]

Isn't this the thing the Second amendment was supposed to prevent?

As I understand it, the 2nd Amendment was supposed to ensure against invasion from the British Empire by keeping the population armed, so any attempt at invasion would allow the armed population to spark a popular insurrection.

But it is really beside the point. A population is only able to stand up to oppression if it is organized, and in most advanced countries, governments and corporations are going to back down if an organized population demands change, e.g. Eastern Europe in the late 80s and early 90s. In most cases governments and corporations will just be biding their time, waiting for people to go home and settle back down into their lives, so they can roll back the concessions. A recent example is Egypt. Sometimes they will fight, but it is extremely dangerous, as there is no telling where it will end, e.g. Syria and Libya, not to mention destructive.

Going back to the US, it should be clear for everyone that the US rulers have successfully managed to keep its population disorganized through a variety of techniques such as sowing distrust between its citizens, massive surveillance, union-busting, mass media and the stacked circus of democracy.

Re:TIL about wiretapping without wires

[Marful]

In addition to everything you've said, they are also require an Unauthorized Access to a Computer Device which is a federal crime (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act), as pushing data and handshaking with the mobile device is part of the pairing process between a mobile device and a cell tower.

Short version ...

[gstoddart]

"Alternatively, it might suggest that the government just doesn't care about legal authorization."

Either the company who sells this, or the agencies using this, have convinced themselves they live in a special area of law in which reality is as they have decided it to be.

They do not care if other people say they have no legal basis for this, they either don't care, or believe they do have a legal basis for this.

Which basically means law enforcement is in the hands of a bunch of idiots who don't know or care the law.

American law enforcement have become like the police in a banana republic ... they'll do whatever the hell they wish, and if you don't like it, they'll probably try to find some way to abuse the law against you.

But make no mistake about it, these people aren't going to obey the law unless until they find themselves under threat of being in a cell themselves. And then they'll just pretend to obey the law.

Law enforcement now believes they can do anything they want to achieve their ends. Because they're idiots who don't know or care about the law.