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PrintSmall GPS devices help prosecutors win convictions
Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:27 PM EDT
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Like millions of motorists, Eric Hanson used a GPS unit in his Chevrolet TrailBlazer to find his way around. He probably didn't expect that prosecutors would eventually use it too — to help convict him of killing four family members.
Prosecutors in suburban Chicago analyzed data from the Garmin GPS device to pinpoint where Hanson had been on the morning after his parents were fatally shot and his sister and brother-in-law bludgeoned to death in 2005. He was convicted of the killings earlier this year and sentenced to death.
Hanson's trial was among recent criminal cases around the country in which authorities used GPS navigation devices to help establish a defendant's whereabouts. Experts say such evidence will almost certainly become more common in court as GPS systems become more affordable and show up in more vehicles.
"There's no real doubt," said Alan Brill, a Minnesota-based computer forensics expert who has worked with the FBI and Secret Service. "This follows every other technology that turns out to have information of forensic value. I think what we're seeing is evolutionary."
Using technology to track a person's location is nothing new. For years, police have been able to trace cell phone signals and use other dashboard devices such as automatic toll-collection systems to confirm a driver's whereabouts.
But the growing popularity of GPS systems — in cars, cell phones and other handheld devices — gives authorities another powerful tool to track suspects.
Among recent cases:
— In September, a man in Butte, Mont., pleaded guilty to rape shortly after a judge ruled that evidence from the GPS unit in his car could be used against him at trial. Prosecutors planned to use it to show that Brian D. Adolf "prowled" through town looking for a victim.
— In New Brighton, Pa., a trucker's GPS system led police to charge him with setting his own home on fire. GPS records showed his rig was parked about 100 yards from his house at the time of the fire.
— In the case of a missing Chicago-area woman named Stacy Peterson, investigators sought GPS records from the SUV owned by her husband, former police officer Drew Peterson. She still hasn't been found, and no one has been charged.
Developed for the military, GPS navigation systems started showing up in cars in the 1990s. Prices have dropped sharply in the past few years, and many units are now available for less than $150.
The Consumer Electronics Association estimates 20 percent of American households own a portable GPS system and 9 percent have vehicles equipped with in-dash systems.
A GPS unit receives signals from satellites to determine its position on the ground. That data can be used by mapping software to display the device's location to within a few yards.
Detectives are often able to extract map searches and desired destinations that have been entered into a GPS unit by the user. Some devices are equipped with a "track back" feature that can show where the unit was at a particular time.
"What we're dealing with here is a use of the technology that I don't think the good people at Magellan or Garmin or TomTom really thought about when they were developing it," said Brill, referring to manufacturers of GPS devices.
Law enforcement sometimes uses secretly planted GPS devices to monitor suspects. The practice, often done without a warrant or court order, has been criticized by privacy advocates who argue that it is unconstitutional.
The GPS feature on a cell phone has already helped solve at least one crime. In 2006, police in Virginia Beach, Va., used the GPS on a homicide victim's cell phone to find the phone and her purse in a garbage can behind a home. The home was linked to the man who was eventually charged with killing her.
Jon Price, a trainer at Garmin Ltd., the leading maker of commercial GPS units in the U.S., started getting calls five years ago to work with law enforcement in cases involving GPS data from the company's units was being used as evidence.
Price estimates he's helped with about 25 criminal cases, some of them involving GPS-equipped boats running drugs out of South America. He's testified as an expert witness in a half-dozen cases, including the Hanson murder trial.
"Typically the GPS data being used is for the purpose of contradicting (defendants') alibis," Price said.
GPS data is usually just one part of the criminal case because attorneys also have to prove the defendant possessed the unit and entered the information into it.
But Renee Hutchins, a University of Maryland law professor and former defense attorney, recently wrote an article suggesting GPS data is protected under the Fourth Amendment. She said police should only be allowed to acquire it by showing probable cause and getting a warrant signed by a judge.
"I think that in the last couple of years, people are starting to be aware that if they have these units in their car, people can keep track of you," Hutchins said. "I think it's a growing public awareness. The problem is ... that most people feel like, 'I'm not doing anything wrong, so who cares?' But I think that's the wrong way of looking at it."
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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 | A good find: GPS to locate the kids | Associated Press | Mon Aug 25 | 5 |
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{"commentId":2623369,"authorDomain":"jcatom"}
"I think that in the last couple of years, people are starting to be aware that if they have these units in their car, people can keep track of you," Hutchins said. "I think it's a growing public awareness. The problem is ... that most people feel like, 'I'm not doing anything wrong, so who cares?' But I think that's the wrong way of looking at it."
So do I. We are going to give our privacy away by not reading the fine print. My comment has nothing to do with the criminal aspect of this story, it has to do with being monitored as a citizen. When I showed my father the camera on my computer he got really uncomfortable and started asking if the camera could come on without my knowing. He's not a paranoid person. He just read 1984 like everyone else. He was almost 15 when that novel came out and a computer screen that sees is mighty close to Big Brother's eye. GPS in several of our personal devices is even further along than Orwell envisioned.
{"commentId":2623369,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"jcatom"}
- 7 votes
#1 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:50 PM EDT{"commentId":2623462,"authorDomain":"anthopos"}
I would have assumed that it already required a warrant to obtain GPS data. It seems strange that it doesn't. Still, I don't see this as giving up privacy, as long as the data is retained by the person who created it. In other words, as long as the data is on the GPS unit in your car, it is no less private than a document in a file cabinet in your home.
{"commentId":2623462,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"anthopos"}
- 6 votes
{"commentId":2623548,"authorDomain":"kbd"}
You are
I don't see this as giving up privacy
if the data is accessed by somebody else, such as the law. Same as when you are on the computer you are giving up privacy if the data is accessed. You just need to be aware of these things and take the appropriate precautions if you want to ensure that the data is never available to anybody else.
{"commentId":2623548,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"kbd"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":2623675,"authorDomain":"JoulesBeef"}
lol I have often thought of that..
you give people a free t-shirt and they will give all their personal info away.
people arent afraid of big brother.. they just want some compensation. a little prize for going along.
tell everyone we could track you at any time.. and they dotn want it.. say but hey it also makes calls.. and bam got to have.
probably the most apt exampel was when people freaked over the Pentium serial number.
"omg I am not beign tracked online.. no way arg... a unique identifier not even tied to my name but my machine.. nooooo"
and it was quickly abandoned
then broad band became popular.. lol we all have semi perminat mac addresses now.. it's not really that much different than the pentium serial that people rose up against.
The problem with the pentium serial was it didn't come with a free tshirt.
{"commentId":2623675,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"JoulesBeef"}
- 6 votes
{"commentId":2623684,"authorDomain":"anthopos"}
The police already have the ability, via wiretap and search warrants, to violate your privacy legally. I don't see how this is any different (though I do think a warrant should be required to access GPS data).
{"commentId":2623684,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"anthopos"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":2623914,"authorDomain":"MRZK"}
Warrant yes, otherwise the Republicans could play "Where in the world is Barack Obama?"
{"commentId":2623914,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"MRZK"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":2624619,"authorDomain":"transfer"}
JC,
it has to do with being monitored as a citizen. That is precisely the point.
PerryO,
Still, I don't see this as giving up privacy, as long as the data is retained by the person who created it. In other words, as long as the data is on the GPS unit in your car, it is no less private than a document in a file cabinet in your home.
If the data remained in our control then it wouldn't be a real problem. But the data is not in our control. Each send and receive unit has a unique identifier. This Unique ID is attached to every communication through many servers. I'm thinking of this along the lines of Credit Card info - we should have control over our consumption data but we don't, collecting and disbursing it is big business.
{"commentId":2624619,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"transfer"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":2624965,"authorDomain":"Moonlight0806"}
JCAtom- your father has good cause to be afraid of that built in webcam in your computer. I watched a television interview show where a woman took her computer to get fixed and the guy loaded software that allowed him to control her webcam remotely. He was able to record her every move and then put the videos on the internet. And she was non the wiser. There are also private companies with software that help you track cellphones, all it takes is a few minutes with the phone and it can be tracked remotely from a computer. One program keeps the mic open so you can listen to everything being said around it. The person carrying the phone will have no clue and you can listen in and track them. The only sign you might get is the battery running down faster, and that usually happens as the cell phone ages anyway.
{"commentId":2624965,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"Moonlight0806"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":2625265,"authorDomain":"laef"}
l just wanted to say that I like it how the last part of the article, the last 2 paragraphs, really... is where the issues came up that I was waiting for. And I shook my head bc the article just abruptly ended there,
but then thankfully the newsvine comments picked up right on it, as needed to be done. Not just that but everyone brings up good points and I agree. That's why I come here to read the news.
cheers.
BUT, what hasn't come up yet,... is the relevance of exactly what we're doing here. Essentially volunteering a public view into our own thoughts, sometimes very political and definitely sensitive information concerning privacy and surveillance. This is exactly the kind of thing Orwell was talking about in 1984 as thought crimes. Obviously we aren't at that scenario (yet) but when does it get to the point that you might not want to be so transparent voluntarily? hmmm
The article only mentions GPS technology to catch murderers and rapists. I'm fine with that as long as they use a warrant (not the law anymore in the US). Who would stop them from using technology to do whatever the hell they want to whomever the hell they want?
{"commentId":2625265,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"laef"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":2625276,"authorDomain":"transfer"}
I'm thinking of Echelon for some reason.
{"commentId":2625276,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"transfer"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":2623570,"authorDomain":"gatorhater"}
But Renee Hutchins, a University of Maryland law professor and former defense attorney, recently wrote an article suggesting GPS data is protected under the Fourth Amendment. She said police should only be allowed to acquire it by showing probable cause and getting a warrant signed by a judge.
That would be interesting to see such a ruling. GPS is owned by the government. A government entity can get in a car and follow you, everywhere you go and it is deemed legal. Is purchase of a GPS device or vehicle equiped with a GPS, considered permission to the government, to track your whereabouts?
I would opt for not having a GPS device, nor having a cell phone turned on, while driving. That's just me.
{"commentId":2623570,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"gatorhater"}
- 2 votes
#2 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 4:05 PM EDT{"commentId":2623574,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
Depending on the circumstances, I would trust data from a GPS more than I would an eyewitness. With GPS data and DNA you're pretty much convicted.
{"commentId":2623574,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
- 3 votes
#3 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 4:05 PM EDT{"commentId":2624089,"authorDomain":"justinpm"}
But what if someone planted GPS data? The question is how is this logging done?
{"commentId":2624089,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"justinpm"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":2624307,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
Conceivably, someone could steal your cell phone, make a call and commit a crime, then return your phone to its former location and you'd never be the wiser until the cops show up to arrest you. No crime is impossible for the person willing to consider all possibilities.
{"commentId":2624307,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":2623872,"authorDomain":"MRZK"}
Ah, the perfect crime, I shall park my Blazer 50 miles from the scene and thus go free!
No, better, I'll put my ex-wife's DNA at the scene and park at her house. - The mind boggles.
{"commentId":2623872,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"MRZK"}
- 1 vote
#4 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 4:30 PM EDT{"commentId":2624041,"authorDomain":"JimmyJames75"}
*talking to GPS unit*
Find, location to dump bodies
*GPS unit voice*
Calculating route
{"commentId":2624041,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"JimmyJames75"}
- 2 votes
#5 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 4:41 PM EDT{"commentId":2624138,"authorDomain":"LOA"}
{"commentId":2624150,"authorDomain":"Michiganborn"}
Does anyone remember the issue in Washington and Oregon, where people from the State government was requesting (demanding) auto makers to put a GPS system in these new alternative and hybrid cars? The purpose was to assess mileage so they could impose a tax on the amount of miles the person was driving, because they were using less fuel, therefor depriving the state of the taxes they were'nt paying in fuel they were'nt using. If this were to have happened, and mind you I'm not absolutely certain it hasn't, your right to privacy would have been removed without your consent. They would say.. "You bought the car, you knew it was there,, you did make the choice in purchasing the car". If you use a cell phone, you conversation can be snatched out of the airwaves if you have a scanner tuned to the frequency of the phone service. Your movements can be tracked if your using the phone on the road. Now they have discovered the GPS and the benefits in Law Enforcement. The way I see it. If your not performing illegal acts, you have nothing to worry about. On the other hand......
{"commentId":2624150,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"Michiganborn"}
- 2 votes
#7 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 4:50 PM EDT{"commentId":2624626,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
As we move to alternative fuels we'll definitely have to come up with a way of funding transportation projects other than a gasoline tax. I favor some kind of tax based on miles traveled, but how are we going to accurately report the miles if not by GPS data? Surely we're not just going to trust people to accurately report their miles when they file their state and federal income taxes? Or maybe we should?
{"commentId":2624626,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":2624337,"authorDomain":"Rixar13"}
Without warrants abuse will happen often and is a violation of our civil liberty's and rights under the constitution.
{"commentId":2624337,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"Rixar13"}
- 3 votes
#8 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:05 PM EDT{"commentId":2624654,"authorDomain":"crazymail"}
Thats why I drive older vehicles. The newer ones not only tattle-tell on you, they have black boxes just like the airplanes. All of our business is becoming their business.
{"commentId":2624654,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"crazymail"}
- 1 vote
#9 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:30 PM EDT{"commentId":2624783,"authorDomain":"lovemyplanet"}
How these people didn't think of the consequences of GPS is beyond me. I thought about it years ago when the idea first came up. I KNEW the government (Big Brother) would be using it to sneak a peek at every little move the "free" citizens of this country make. Just like when my former roommate told me I was crazy for seeing that the then-looming patriot act would be used to spy on people, I saw this usage for GPS. At this point, I wouldn't buy a car with one of those things in it. And it's not like I am doing anything wrong or plan to. It's simply that I have a right to privacy and do not trust our corrupt government to protect it. The government has NO RIGHT to invade that privacy, even with the truckload of Executive Orders that have been signed not only by Bush and Co. but by numerous other presidents who set this debacle up in the first place. This little plan has been a long time in the making. They'd like to believe that they own the people of this nation mind, body, and soul, the first nation to espouse freedom for all. The first thing is to get the people to voluntarily give up their freedoms one crumb at a time. So they snare people who are easily and willingly deluded by offering them "toys" (even ones used for "security") and telling them that the pros outweigh the cons by appealing to their laziness, greed and/or fear. GPS will be yet another tool in the arsenal of those who want all peoples, properties and natural resources to be used for their own nefarious reasons. And if you disagree with them...
Gator Hater,
"I would opt for not having a GPS device, nor having a cell phone turned on, while driving. That's just me."
I think having your cell phone turned off while driving still allows for you to be monitored. I seem to remember that you have to completely remove the battery as there is still a little bit of juice coursing through the phone that allows it to be located. Even a "dead" cell phone battery still has a little juice in reserve that allows it to be traced. Can't remember where I read that.
{"commentId":2624783,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"lovemyplanet"}
#10 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:40 PM EDT{"commentId":2625170,"authorDomain":"gatorhater"}
lovemyplanet-400560: To clarify, I don't even own a cellphone. They were a nuisance. As for monitoring of cellphones, here is an article, from 2006, about "roving bugs"....SOURCE
The U.S. Commerce Department's security office warns that "a cellular telephone can be turned into a microphone and transmitter for the purpose of listening to conversations in the vicinity of the phone."
The surveillance technique came to light in an opinion published this week by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. He ruled that the "roving bug" was legal because federal wiretapping law is broad enough to permit eavesdropping even of conversations that take place near a suspect's cell phone.
{"commentId":2625170,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"gatorhater"}
{"commentId":2626047,"authorDomain":"lovemyplanet"}
Thanks for that!
{"commentId":2626047,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"lovemyplanet"}
{"commentId":2624920,"authorDomain":"jackson-kittilea"}
If you're dumb enough to commit a crime, in your car, with the gps, you can get caught.
I think GPS are a bit much, so guess what: I DIDN'T GET ONE.
Simple.
{"commentId":2624920,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"jackson-kittilea"}
#11 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:50 PM EDT{"commentId":2624982,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
For those who are vehemently against GPS tracking, I'm pretty certain that if your car ran off the road on a dark, rainy night or you had a car accident that rendered you unconscious, or you got lost in a snowstorm, you would want to be found quickly. In such circumstances the speed of discovery and rescue could mean the difference between your life and death. It's not the technology, it's how it's used.
{"commentId":2624982,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
#12 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:54 PM EDT{"commentId":2627982,"authorDomain":"laef"}
Or if it gets stolen.
{"commentId":2627982,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"laef"}
{"commentId":2628283,"authorDomain":"Moonlight0806"}
I don't think anyone said they were against the technology itself. It is the unsupervised government use of it that they are weary of.
{"commentId":2628283,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"Moonlight0806"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":2626893,"authorDomain":"steve9001"}
Orwell's 1984 has came and gone. Now were smack dab in the middle of it. Only 20 odd years late.
{"commentId":2626893,"threadId":"342341","contentId":"1797896","authorDomain":"steve9001"}
- 1 vote
#13 - Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:08 PM EDT{"canLink":false,"threadId":"342341","isPrivate":false}
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