POLICE USE OF NEW GADGETS RAISES PRIVACY ISSUES

Local agencies say they follow law, not interested in intrusion

New technology is being used to give law enforcement agencies a leg up
in fighting crime - advancements that have elsewhere raised tricky
privacy issues that in some cases remain unresolved by the courts.

Greenville County sheriff's deputies are planning to spend $225,000 in
federal money on a new thermal-imaging camera that would be installed
on a helicopter to help search for suspects and missing people on the
ground.

In the past year, Greenville police have expanded how they use a
license-plate reader that can help check dozens of plates a minute.
Officers also have more than 100 conventional security cameras mounted
on buildings and light posts throughout downtown.

Greenville authorities said they follow the law and have no interest
in continuously watching the public's every move.

Federal appeals courts across the country have issued conflicting
rulings on whether police need warrants to secretly attach
GPS-monitoring devices to cars. It's unclear how often authorities use
GPS monitoring or if they obtain warrants for it.

Federal court records show that the Drug Enforcement Administration
electronically tracked a van connected to an alleged Greenville
marijuana-smuggling operation as recently as last year, although
records don't say if a warrant was obtained. The DEA declined to comment.

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy
Information Center in Washington, said law enforcement technology has
been linked to privacy issues going back to early use of the telephone
and computer databases.

"Technology always gets out in front of the law," he said. "And then
we have to go about the hard work of updating the law to make sure our
privacy protections are preserved."

Lt. Shea Smith said the sheriff's thermal-imaging camera would replace
one that has been in use for years. The camera can't see through roofs
into people's homes even if deputies wanted it to, he said.

"It's not an X-ray-type device," Smith said.

Sgt. Jason Rampey said police have the right to check license plates
and that the automatic reader does the same job an officer alone
would, only more quickly. It is not used to conduct surveillance, he
said.

Meanwhile, the downtown security cameras aren't continuously monitored
and are instead used to track crimes in progress and look back at
those already committed, Rampey said.

"We don't want people to think big brother is watching," he said.
Police use of new gadgets raises privacy issues

The sheriff's thermal-imaging camera comes with legal
limitations.

Federal authorities in Oregon used thermal imaging to scan a home for
heat associated with a marijuana-growing operation, according to a
2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The court held in that case that
authorities needed a warrant to use the technology to check private
homes.

Deputies don't use their camera in that manner, Smith said. Three
experienced Greenville defense attorneys said they have never had the
sheriff's thermal imaging enter as a factor in a case.

Like the sheriff's thermal-imaging camera, Greenville police's
license-plate reader employs infrared technology in the hunt for crime.

The reader is hooked to a marked 2008 Crown Victoria and has
registered more than 135,000 "plate reads" since it hit the streets
last year, helping make 11 arrests and recover two stolen cars, Rampey
said.

Infrared light automatically snaps photos of tags, and a computer
converts the images into text that is compared to a "hot list." An
alarm alerts the officer when a stolen car is found. The process
happens in the blink of an eye.

The use has since expanded to include enforcement of the cruising
ordinance and to help the parking bureau search for cars with boot
orders, Rampey said.

The department also has the ability to search for witnesses, suspended
tags and vehicles, even when a complete tag number is unavailable, he
said.

Once the Sheriff's Office has its new thermal imaging camera, the old
one could remain in use on the office's other helicopter or its
airplane, Smith said.

A downlink could be installed later to send the images to commanders
on the ground, bringing the total price tag to $335,000, according to
Sheriff's Office records.

The money for the new camera comes from the 2009 South Carolina
Terrorism Grant, part of a federal program administered by the state.