NYCLU Raises Alarm Over Use Of Stingray Data Collection Devices By Police
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The New York Civil Liberties Union is raising concerns over privacy issues with an NYPD crime-fighting tool known as the Stingray.
As WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported, this Stingray is not a fish or a car. It is a data collection device originally used by the military, and now in use by police departments around the country.
NYCLU senior staff attorney Mariko Hirose said the NYCLU wants to know which models of Stingray the NYPD owns and how much they have paid for them.
By pulling in cellphone signals, she said, the most basic Stingray "can locate individuals and track them, including even if they are inside their home or inside a place of worship. And there are other more advanced models of Stingrays, though, that can also intercept phone calls."
The NYCLU believes the NYPD should have to obtain a warrant before any use of a Stingray in an investigation.