Virginia Police Spent $500K For An Ineffective Cellphone Surveillance System (muckrock.com)

Cell-site simulators can intercept phone calls and even provide locations (using GPS data). But Virginia's state police force just revealed details about their actual use of the device -- and it's not pretty. Long-time Slashdot reader v3rgEz writes: In 2014, the Virginia State Police spent $585,265 on a specially modified Suburban outfitted with the latest and greatest in cell phone surveillance: the DRT 1183C, affectionately known as the DRTbox. But according to logs uncovered by public records website MuckRock, the pricey ride was only used 12 times — and only worked seven of those times.
According to Virginia's ACLU director, "each of the 12 uses cost almost $50,000, and only 4 of them resulted in an arrest [raising] a significant question whether the more than half million dollars spent on the device and the vehicle...was a wise investment of public funds."

Comments

Who?

[Anonymous Coward]

This cost the VSP $585,265, and came complete with a whole bunch of accessories, including a Chevrolet Suburban outfitted specifically to run the device.

Two important questions remain unanswered

• Who made the decision to buy it? Current article makes it look like Virginia State Police is a hive mind entity
• Who sold it (and thus profited)

Now they'll use it more...

[Macdude]

Oh great! With the release of this news story the Virginia State Police will feel they need to justify the purchase (rather than admit buying it was a mistake) and will use it whenever they can. It was only used in 12 cases? Wait 6 months and it will be 1,200.

Why worry about citizen's rights to privacy when you have to justify buying toys!