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Record
Two
Million
Private
Conversations
Monitored
by
Government
in
1997
5/15/98
A recently released government
report indicates that a record number of wiretaps (1,186) were approved
by state and federal judges in 1997. The average number of conversations
intercepted by each tap was 2,081, meaning that over two million separate
conversations were surreptitiously overheard. 73 percent of the taps
were approved as part of narcotics-related investigations. These
figures represent only those cases where neither of the parties to a conversation
was aware or approved of the tap.
New York topped the list
of states in which wiretaps had been approved with 304. New Jersey
was second with 102.
"The Clinton Administration's
law enforcement bureaucracy has sought wiretap authorizations at historically
unprecedented levels," Eric Sterling, President of the Criminal Justice
Policy Foundation tells The Week Online. "Some of this is the product of
the unprecedented growth of federal law enforcement in recent years.
One rationale for such growth is wiretapping itself, as it is a very labor-
intensive practice. But like nearly every law enforcement tool that
has been extended in scope and utility over the past twenty years, there
hasn't been a very significant positive payoff."
-- END --
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Issue #42, 5/15/98
Preliminary Injunction Granted Against 6 California Buyers' Clubs: Medical Marijuana to Get its Day in Court | Kentucky Farmers Seek Federal Court Ruling on Hemp | Santa Clara County Buyers' Club Closes After Police Seize Assets | Portland MS Patient Found Guilty of Marijuana Possession, Manufacturing | Another Botched Raid in New York, Another Innocent Family Terrorized in the Name of "Our Children" | San Mateo County Votes to Study Medicinal Marijuana: Says Research Will Provide Access for Patients | Record Two Million Private Conversations Monitored by Government in 1997 | Forfeiture Victims Need Help | Medical Journal Reports AIDS Patient's Persistent Hiccups Relieved by Marijuana | Editorial: McLies
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