Technology use in crime fighting

As we look ahead to how technology impacts our lives, currently there are two local criminal cases, one in the State of Delaware, and one just up the road  from Delaware in West Chester, Pennsylvania that could set precedents on how modern technology, such as GPS devices, can be used in crime fighting.

Delaware case cites need for warrant

Recently filed Court papers describe how information from a global positioning device that police attached to the car of a suspect was used as part of a criminal case against a  Newark, Delaware drug suspect.

Police used a GPS tracking device without a warrant for nearly a month tracking the suspect's movements.  Superior Court Judge Jan R. Jurden's ruling stated that using a GPS device is different than traditional surveillance, and that without some judicial preservation of privacy, citizens could be tracked around the clock. While the court ruling throws out as evidence a duffel bag full of marijuana, the judge ruled on the side of privacy.

The Honorable Jan R. Jurden, a Delaware native appointed to the Superior Court of Delaware in May 2001, made clear she was not prohibiting GPS tracking, but rather that a warrant be justified and issued before the devices are used by law officers.
 
Pennsylavania case upholds GPS device use

In January 2008, police in Chester County Pennsylvania installed a GPS mobile tracking device on a vehicle investigators believed was used in a string of commercial burglaries.

In reviewing a request to suppress the GPS device evidence, Chester County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Gavin noted there was virtually no case law to guide judges in matters regarding GPS technology.  The judge did not believe that the initial information police had given to secure permission to install the device was sufficient, and he ordered the information about the vehicle's location thrown out.

Judge Gavin's ruling expressed some of the same concerns of the Delaware judge on the use of technology by police to intrude on people's privacy. A three member panel of judges from the Pennsylvania Superior Court recently overturned Judge Gavin's decision, and ruled that the prosecution could use the tracking device evidence at trial.

Local cases could set precedents

Both of these cases are subject to appeals, and cases such as these will be interesting to watch in the months ahead, as they both point to the lack of specific laws covering this technolgy in crime fighting. Technology use in crime fighting will cause heated debate on civil rights and privacy issues as well, as laws are created to address these areas.

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