Police surveillance in Niagara under the microscope

BILL SAWCHUK

POSTMEDIA NETWORK

The answer from the police chief was an unequivocal no on whether the Niagara Regional Police Service has its own secret cellphone surveillance technology.

But he won’t say if the force uses it.

Chief Jeff McGuire then said he couldn’t respond to questions posed by Niagara Regional Police Services Board Chairman Bob Gale about whether police use what is know as a Stingray or Mobile Device Identifiers (MDIs).

“The answer is no, the NRPS does not own the equipment specified in the question, and the rest will be left for a report we will bring back to you,” McGuire said.

McGuire told the police services board Thursday he’s not opposed to answering members’ questions about the controversial technology that has raised civil rights concerns.

However, he said he needs to respond to some in a closed session, for board members only, because the information may have an impact on the NRP’s ability to conduct investigations.

McGuire said he would have to take Gale’s questions and check with legal counsel to see what information can come back in an open session for the public.

That report should be ready next month, McGuire said.

“I’m not opposed to it landing in public in the end, but it might be fruitful to have a discussion about it in confidential on some of these issues first,” McGuire said.

Gale’s questions included how many times the NRP has used MDI, if warrants were obtained and what happens to any incidental information picked up. He also wanted to know if use of the technology blocks 911 calls in the area.

“There are questions that should be answered in public, and I have already talked to our solicitor about this,” Gale said. “I know you have said it is an operational issue, but, wearing my police board member hat, we represent the community.

“We have to make sure there are checks and balances on our police services throughout Canada.”

Stingray devices are controversial because they sweep up data from hundreds of innocent cellular users in addition to the people police have under surveillance, said David Christopher, of Open Media Canada.

Open Media is a non-partisan, non-profit advocacy organization that looks at the implications of technological and communications innovation in Canada.

“We have seen more and more stories come out, especially from the States, where police forces are increasingly admitting that they have used these devices, including big police departments like the NYPD,” Christoper said. “For the most part, they have been admitting it when they have been taken to court by civil liberties groups down there.

“Slowly more and more information is coming out.

“We suspected for a long time that something similar was likely happening up here in Canada. We have been pushing for answers on this. Our executive director, Laura Tribe, helped trigger an investigation by the privacy commissioner into whether the RCMP is using Stingrays.”

Christopher said it looks very much like local police forces around the country are borrowing the devices from the RCMP.

“The RCMP most likely has the capability, and police services like the one in Niagara are borrowing it,” he said.

Christopher explained that there are privacy concerns about the use of these devices. He called it “a tool of mass surveillance.”

“You would set it up in a given area, say in downtown Niagara Falls, and it will automatically scoop up all the data from cellphones within a given radius,” Christopher said. “The latest models have about a two-kilometre radius so you would be picking up a lot of innocent people’s cellphone data.”

Christopher said documents from a trial in Montreal revealed the RCMP was retaining the data and storing it in the force’s databases.

He called that development extremely concerning.

“In the States where the devices are used, the police services were deleting the data after they had sifted through it, after they found what they were looking for,” he said.

“It’s next to impossible to tell if you have been caught up in the net of one of the devices. Anyone, anywhere, anytime — especially if you are living in a more built up area — could be a victim of this.

“Your personal cellphone data could be trapped, collected and stored in a government database.”

Christopher said the type of data these devices are capable of collecting is quite broad. It includes everything from basic things like your IMSI number, your phone number, the unique identifying details of your device as well as emails and text messages.

“The privacy concerns are very real,” he said.

“Our position is we are pushing for transparency on this. We need to know if there are any safeguards being used. Are the police applying for warrants? Does a judge have to sign off on it?

“We need those answers so we can have an informed debate about if these devices should be used at all, and if the circumstances are appropriate. We wanted them clearly delineated and checks and safeguards built in.

“With the Montreal court case, the RCMP can’t deny they are using these devices. It blew the lid. We weren’t shocked and surprised. The scale of it surprised me.

“I didn’t realize they have been in use for so many years. All we are asking for is for the facts to be laid on the table so we can have an informed, democratic debate on it.”

McGuire explained that while the public calls it wire tapping, the actual definition in the Criminal Code is the interception of private communications.

“It is not just wires, it is hardline telephones, if we get authorization from a judge, which we have to do, you have to specify what it is,” McGuire said. “If it’s wireless it is all lumped into one. It is covered just the same under the section of the Criminal Code.”

McGuire said the NRP is one of the forces contacted by the CBC for a recent report on the use of the technology. He read his reply to the board. He said due to the operational nature of the questions, “it is our opinion that the responses generated would jeopardize investigations, ongoing court proceedings and impact officer safety. Therefore the NRPS is not in a position to respond to those questions.”

He also told the board the NRP has to file an annual report with Public Safety Canada on the number of interceptions made and the number of requests made.

Public Safety Canada is the federal agency that ensures co-ordination across all federal departments and agencies responsible for national security and the safety of Canadians.