Tell Us What You ThinkÂ
In light of the Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision on the warrantless use of GPS tracking devices by law enforcement officials, we want to hear some of your thoughts on this issue.
Please take a moment to fill out our poll by clicking here.
For more information on the Supreme Court’s decision on GPS tracking and warrantless tracking, click here.
Supreme Court Mandates Warranted GPS Tracking
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that law enforcement officials violated the Constitutional rights of suspected cocaine dealer, Antoine Jones, when they attached a GPS tracking device on his Jeep without a search warrant. The data obtained from the GPS tracker was used to convict Jones of possession of narcotics with the intent to distribute, which was later overturned in a federal appeals court.
District of Columbia police and FBI agents watched Jones, a nightclub owner, for months with an array of surveillance techniques, including tapping his cellphone under a warrant from a federal judge. Police had obtained a warrant for the District of Columbia, however, it expired before the GPS tracking device was installed in Maryland.
The United States vs. Antoine Jones
On November 8, 2011, the Supreme Court listened and responded to oral arguments from both sides in a landmark case, which would have determined whether police and law enforcement agencies would be able to monitor suspected criminals with covert GPS tracking devices without having to obtain a warrant.
The case involved a suspected cocaine trafficker in the Washington, D.C. area, whose movements were monitored 24/7 over a 28 day period without a warrant by the FBI and local police investigators. Some of the information obtained from the GPS tracker was used to convict Antoine Jones of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, which was later overturned by a lower circuit appeals court.
GPS Device Tracks Down ‘Sin Bad’
The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Sherburne County investigators did not violate the Constitution when they attached a GPS tracker to a burglary suspect’s work vehicle and used it to track him to a burglary scene.
Deputies used the GPS tracking device to track the suspect, Sin Santo Bad, to a residential house as he was cleaning out a safe.
Sin Santo Bad was convicted of first-degree burglary and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Bad appealed the conviction, contending that placing the GPS tracker on a truck he used at work constituted an illegal search, and in direct violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Bad’s attorneys requested that the evidence investigators obtained after his arrest should be suppressed.
Regina Cab Drivers Need GPS Technology
According to a statistical report, taxi cab drivers were rated as one of the most dangerous jobs in Canada. It shouldn’t come as a surprise since the nature of the job requires taxi drivers to pick up and drop off complete strangers all throughout the day for 8-12 hours straight. In August of 2009, Jose Pena-Seguira, a New York City cab driver, was fatally shot in the head.
However, this hasn’t stopped Ayyaz Destdar from doing his job. For 20 years Ayyaz has worked in large cities such as New York, Toronto and Edmonton. He recently moved to Regina, which is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, a few months ago and was surprised when he discovered how far behind the city was in the development and implementation of safety measures for taxi drivers.
Police Employ New Tactics to Combat Rampant Bike Thefts
Bike theft is a serious problem in Cambridge (UK). In 2010, the city was named the UK’s bike theft capital according to a report by the Cambridgeshire County Council. In 2007, it was reported that thieves stole  2,240 bikes in the city, increasing to 2,326 the following year, 2,597 in 2009 and 2,870 in 2010.
As a result of this growing issue, local law enforcement officials devised a series of tactics last year aimed at combatting this rampant problem. City police officers employed new crime-busting tactics including a new city centre police team, targeting criminals who sell them and trap bikes fitted with GPS tracking systems to deter and catch the culprits.
Charges Dropped for Turtle Lake Driver
A 60-year-old driver for a handicapped transportation service in Turtle Lake, WI, was accused of sexually assaulting a child in his care. However, this past week he had the criminal charges against him dropped after the 11-year-old girl admitted she made up a story that he molested her sexually.
According to a phone interview from District Attorney Dan Steffen, Paul L. Burritt was not just “not guilty” of the accusations made against him, he was clearly “innocent” of all charges. He went on to state that this was “a prosecutor’s worst nightmare.” All charges against Burritt were dismissed on a prosecutor’s motion and Steffen is working to have them expunged from the criminal computer records.
Open Source Development for Real-Time GPS Tracking System
New York City’s public transit provider, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is set to pour millions of dollars into a high-tech project that will give New Yorkers a real-time view into the exact location of every single bus in the city.
Last year, the transit authority announced “BusTime,” a pilot project on the B63 bus route running through Brooklyn. GPS tracking devices were installed on each bus, and an open-source firmware was initially developed by local tech firms to allow the public to view buses as they made their way along their routes.
About Bus 52
Bus 52 is a year-long journey across the United States that will see five young people travel to all 48 continental states in a converted school bus. This team will be setting out on this vast journey to look for people all over the U.S. who are approaching community challenges in new and innovative ways and will be sharing their stories through video interviews, articles and photo albums.
When asked what compelled this team of young people to embark on this unique journey, here’s what they had to say:
Locate and Track a Duke Bus
Duke University has been recognized as one of the premier institutions of higher learning in the United States (ranked #10 in the US News National University Rankings for 2011). In addition its high academic standards, Duke is also known as a national college basketball powerhouse under the leadership of Coach Mike Krzyzewski.
And if these reasons weren’t enough, Duke University faculty and students will soon be able to take pride in its mass transit service. This month, Duke community members will be able to keep tabs on buses along all of Duke’s transit routes online or through a mobile device.
