(State) Bill would expand police wiretap powers

[hippiechick]

... but let's talk about basketball, or the new stadium, shall we? :mad:


Bill would expand police wiretap powers
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070319/LOCAL190110/703190401

By Jon Murray

Cell phones and other electronic devices have opened new avenues for criminals, but these same technology advances have left Indiana police investigators behind. Hoping to regain lost ground, the Indiana State Police is pushing a bill in the Statehouse that would give it the authority to listen in on cell phone calls and intercept other electronic communications, such as e-mail.

Local law enforcement agencies would have the same power, but only with State Police supervision.
The existing wiretap law has been used three times since it took effect in 1990, said Lt. Todd Smith, a State Police staff attorney. It has collected dust because it allows authorities to intercept only land lines, and then only in drug-related cases. That's a problem, because drug rings and other criminal operations have all but abandoned traditional telephones.

Steve Johnson, executive director of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, testified in favor of Senate Bill 411, which now is in the House. It passed the Senate on Feb. 20 on a 46-1 vote, with only Sen. Tim Skinner, D-Terre Haute, dissenting. Skinner said he supported making intercepts more useful. But he objected to broad language in the bill that defined electronic communication so loosely it includes any yet-to-be invented technology.

"It just comes back to rights and liberties and how precious those are, and how careful we need to be about how we hand those out to police authorities," said Skinner, who teaches high school government.


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