In fact, it was only after sifting through hundreds of documents received through public records requests that WBUR discovered BPD had bought the device from North Carolina-based Tactical Support Equipment Inc., which specializes in surveillance technology. Because it was purchased with civil forfeiture funds, BPD was able to circumvent the city council.Īccording to an invoice obtained by WBUR, the only city review of the purchase - which was made with federal forfeiture funds - came from the procurement department, confirming that the funds were available.
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But the surveillance equipment wasn’t part of the budget. The Boston City Council reviews the BPD annual budget, scrutinizing proposed spending. This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. The police chiefs in Massachusetts have discretion over the money, and the public has virtually no way of knowing how the funds are used. Some departments benefit from both state and federal civil asset forfeiture.
#Spytech spy agent email attachment simulator#
The Boston police bought its simulator device using money that is typically taken during drug investigations through what’s called civil asset forfeiture.Īn August investigation by WBUR and ProPublica found that even if no criminal charges are brought, law enforcement almost always keep the money and have few limitations on how they spend it. While this briefcase-sized device can help locate a suspect or a missing person, it can also scoop up information from other phones in the vicinity, including yours. It can pinpoint someone's location down to a particular room of a hotel or house.
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Once the phones connect to the cell site simulator’s decoy signal, the equipment secretly obtains location and other potentially identifying information. Nonetheless, in 2019 the Boston Police Department bought the device known as a cell site simulator - and tapped a hidden pot of money that kept the purchase out of the public eye.Ī WBUR investigation with ProPublica found elected officials and the public were largely kept in the dark when Boston police spent $627,000 on this equipment by dipping into money seized in connection with alleged crimes.Īlso known as a “stingray,” the cell site simulator purchased by Boston police acts like a commercial cell phone tower, tricking nearby phones into connecting to it. Listen to more: Massachusetts is an outlier when it comes to civil forfeiture laws Part two: Boston police bought spy tech with a pot of money hidden from the publicįollow up: City councilors seek review of Boston police purchase of surveillance tech Worcester's district attorney makes it hard to get it backįollow up: Lawmakers call for reforms to civil forfeiture
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Part one: It's easy for police to seize money. Seize and keep: Civil forfeiture in Massachusetts Critics say it threatens constitutional rights and members of Congress have moved to restrain its use. Across the country, some law enforcement agencies have deployed controversial surveillance technology to track cell phone location and use.