Report Explores Boston Police's Warrantless Use of Cellphone Trackers

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Police Department has deployed controversial cellphone tracking technology 11 times in the last seven years "without once obtaining a search warrant," according to a new report from the New England Center for Investigative Reporting.

The Center submitted public records requests to determine how the department had used the tracker, which lets law enforcement agencies pinpoint cellphone locations. Their use is under legal challenge in other states because police used them without warrants or hid their use from defendants, according to the report.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans previously told WGBH that officers "normally apply for a search warrant" for the devices, except under urgent and potentially deadly circumstances. However, the NCIR reported, records show Boston police has not gotten a warrant for any of its 11 uses of the tracking devices since 2009.

Read the full story from the New England Center for Investigative Reporting here.

Please tell us in the comments what you think of the report.