Police Secretly Planting GPS Devices On Cars 609
bfwebster writes "The Washington Post has a long investigative article on how more and more police departments are secretly planting GPS tracking devices on the cars of people they are investigating — usually without a warrant. After-the-fact court challenges on this technique have largely upheld such use of a GPS device, though the Washington State Supreme Court has ruled that a warrant is required."
That's a stupid idea. (Score:2, Funny)
Take a device that detects whether or not there is a GPS sending and receiving info, and you find it in a car, dump it in some predetermined location with counter measures, and lead the cops to a trap? Bye bye cops...
If you have nothing to hide (Score:4, Funny)
I don't see the problem.
Re:If you have nothing to hide (Score:2, Funny)
Possible scenarios (Score:2, Funny)
At 2:44 PM John Doe visited a strip bar, after stopping by an erotic book store....
Or.... at 4:54 John Doe visited a book store specialising in conspiracy oriented books. Security cameras and credit card transactions acquired by warrantless NSA surveillance show leaving with David Icke books. John Doe then visits local Dennis Kucinich campaign headquarters. Flag as national security threat for possible detention without habeas corpus, speedy trail by jury, charges, evidence or right to legal representation, and for indefinite incarceration and water boarding at Guantanamo Bay.
Re:Do the police... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Yes, but... (Score:5, Funny)
I'd think you could take it off and toss it in a dumpster if you found it.
Wouldn't it be more fun to attach it to a random taxicab instead? If you really want to screw with someone, you could always go to a gas station near a freeway, look for someone towing a boat and obviously on their way to some vacation hotspot, and then attach the device to the boat when its owner isn't looking...
Re:Do the police... (Score:5, Funny)
It depends, is it an African midget or a European midget?
Re:Do the police... (Score:4, Funny)
Not just the police (Score:3, Funny)
I was talking to a guy who works at the local university's outdoor program centre. They rent all sorts of camping and sports gear, including handheld GPSs. Apparently a guy came in one day and was interested in renting one. He asked how rugged they were: for instance, suppose it were to be attached to the bumper of my wife's car. Would that be likely to damage it?
Re:Do the police... (Score:3, Funny)
But if you drove enough, you could make that .05% *really* hurt them.
New hat (Score:1, Funny)
Time to make an oversized tinfoil hat for my car.
Re:Do the police... (Score:5, Funny)
If you really think about this statement, I think you'll find it to be demonstrably false.
No he was spot on.
It is the speed variance that kills.
The ditch on that corner he failed to negotiate was only going zero miles per hour. The total variance was probably in excess of 70mph.
Same for that 2mph pedestrian he killed last week.
Re:Do the police... (Score:5, Funny)
Do the police require warrants to bug my house? YES! The difference between my house and my car is very little so yes they need warrants too.
Yes, but do the police need a warrant to put a GPS tracker on your house?
Woo Hoo!! (Score:2, Funny)
free gps [slashdot.org]
It's Like a Car... (Score:3, Funny)
You have to imagine the GPS satellites driving around on big...highways...except way up in the sky. Kind of like really fast...flying cars. Way up there.
So the car drives around like, if you follow me, the car, and then the other cars that are, um, way, um, up there. Can see it through their windshields because they are like...cars, see?
And then that all does stuff like that, and then the police go where the "car" is by using transportation of a nature that can best be understood by imagining a car, only it has police in it.
So that's the best way to understand all that.
Re:Who watches the cops? (Score:2, Funny)
But doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a car?