US Marshals Service used Stingray cellphone tracking devices nearly 6,000 times
The Baltimore police department is no longer the most prolific known user of Stingray technology, which can track suspects’ cellphones by impersonating cellphone towers.
Baltimore police have used Stingrays 4,300 times, according to court testimony, but that’s less than the usage by the U.S. Marshals Service, USA Today reports. The federal agency has used Stingray cellphone trackers in nearly 6,000 cases.
The U.S. Marshals Service had turned down USA Today’s freedom of information request for a log of cases in which Stingrays were used. But it did provide a spreadsheet of cases—with most of the information blanked out—that enabled USA Today to count the number of log entries.
USA Today counted 5,975 cases on the list, though it’s unknown what kind of time period was covered. It’s also unclear if the targeted suspects were aware of the use of the device.
New U.S. Department of Justice guidelines announced in September say warrants are needed to use Stingrays, except in exigent or exceptional circumstances.
