A disturbing item of news was sent to me recently entitled “Police scrutiny of mobile device data raises concerns”. It appeared in North Carolina’s  “News Observer” claiming that civil liberties advocates are worried that advances in mobile phone technology have opened a door for police in North Carolina to snoop on people without the standard legal protections. The article further says that, “Law enforcement officers are increasingly mining the wealth of data from phone towers to piece together a user’s travels and contacts — a virtual diary that investigators can read without the subject’s consent or awareness. That information is retained by phone companies for months and years in some cases.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently conducted a national study of law enforcement procedures for obtaining detailed phone records. They found not only in North Carolina but nationally the study raised “questions about whether laws designed to protect privacy are keeping up with the dizzying pace of technological advances.”

The article written by Anne Blythe says: “Wireless carriers, many which have special teams that deal with law enforcement, charge from several hundred to several thousand dollars to do a sweeping investigation to dredge up the details of a suspect’s records. While many departments require subpoenas or other court orders to track cellphones in non-emergencies, some agencies play it a little looser and faster when time pressures exist.

“In North Carolina, the study found, there is no uniform statewide procedure to guide investigators. “It’s sort of wild,” said Allie Bohm, an ACLU advocacy and political strategist from the national office. “You can be in one county and they’re doing it one way and be in another county and they’re doing it different. It’s a total patchwork.”’

George H. Erwin Jr., executive director of the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, said historically obtaining warrants for such information had been standard practice.

With the new eaves dropping law making it easier for the RCIPS to listen in to your telephone conversations I would not put it pass them to be already getting all the information they require from our phone companies that could include GPS tracking of cellphones.

If you wish to view the whole article go to: www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/03/1976603/police-scrutiny-of-mobile-device.html