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Not Clear If Baltimore Police Still Tracking Cell Phones

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore police listening in to cell phone calls with hidden technology first surfaced last spring.

Alex DeMetrick reports it's not clear if police are still dialing in or hanging up.

Every tap sends and stores information. It's captured and moved on by cell phone towers. But for years, Baltimore police listened in with StingRay technology that was kept secret and could track and unlock cell phone data.

When word broke last April, police tried reassurance.

"This isn't about reading their emails, seeing text messages, pulling pictures, any of that sort of thing. This is really about finding some of the most violent criminals in the city," said Capt. Eric Kowalczyk, Baltimore Police Department.

The technology doesn't just track a single phone.

"They sweep up information about every single phone in range, whether suspect or not," said David Rocah, Maryland ACLU.

In a 2011 agreement between city police, the State's Attorney's Office and FBI, StingRay was to be kept a secret.

"Prosecutors are told to tank their own cases and to drop evidence rather than disclose the use of this technology," said Rocah. "So they're putting secrecy ahead of public safety."

Since 2007, StingRay has been used 4,300 times in Baltimore, forcing the current state's attorney to review 2,000 cases for improper searches. With the secret blown, the FBI was ordered to get search warrants to use StingRay.

But it's not clear if Baltimore police are doing the same to make their arrests by listening in.

In a statement, the department says: "We will act in accordance to the law and best practices with the use of any technology or crime fighting tool."

Privacy advocates say that's too vague.

"The Baltimore Police Department refused to say what their policy was, which is beyond absurd," Rocah said.

Meaning six months after StingRay surfaced, it's not clear who's on the other end.

The issue has now prompted congressional lawmakers to call on police departments to adopt federal policies to reduce cell phone tracking.

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