Vancouver police admit using StingRay cellphone surveillance, BCCLA says

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association says it has confirmed thatVancouver police have useda controversialcellphonesurveillance device aStingRay at least once.

Police confirmed the device was used nine years ago.

The device was employed with"legitimate, appropriate and proper" authorization and based on "exigent circumstance," police said.

In anemailto CBC, Vancouver policeConst.Brian Montague said the device was used "in2007as an investigative tool to support aVPDsuspected abduction casethat is now an investigation into a possible homicide."

The device was used to try to locate a specificcellphone owned by the person who may have been abducted.

The police did not get access to any of the data that was collected, Montague said, adding that he could not clarify any further details as that investigation was continuing.

Chasing theStingRay

Details of theStingRayuse, almost a decade ago, are emerging after a series of requests for information.

TheBCCLAdescribed an"immensely frustrating" back and forth with the police and the B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner,challengingthe police position that it would "neither confirm or deny"it held any records about the device.

StingRays, also called cell-site simulators, work by mimicking cell towers and tricking mobile devices within certain ranges. Text and audio communications are intercepted indiscriminately, capturing everycellphoneuser in the vicinity. This wholesale data scoop creates privacy and public accountability issues, as bystandersbecome concerned they may be caught up in a net set for criminals.

The Vancouver police say they don't own aStingRaydevice, but after some digging theBCCLAsaidpolice have admitted to borrowing and using anRCMP-owneddevice at least once with proper authorization.

"Yes, they have used anRCMPStingRayand yes, they would do so again," said MichaelVonnof theBCCLAin awritten postyesterday.

TheBCCLAhas longurgedmore transparency and the creation of laws to control and monitor the use of surveillance techniques, saying that thereluctance of the Vancouver police to be open about the use of such technology raises the potential for abuse or misuse.

"Not only has it takenyearsto get the most basic and partial information on this subject, but we are still largely dependent on the goodwill of the police to use these devices responsibly, because protection from illegitimate or abusive use is next to nil," wroteVonn.

Call for tighter regulation

TheBCCLAwould like to see laws governing the use of the devices, similar to laws in Germany.

Since 2002, federal regulations in Germany have required basic standards forStingRayuse:

• A warrant.
• The device must only be used in cases of serious crime.
• Only for geo-location, not for communication content gathering.
• Non-suspect data collection must be limited.
• Use must be subject to oversight and review.

"Contrast that with Canada, where we have absolutely no policy or regulatory response to police and intelligence agencies' use ofStingRays, despite theRCMPhaving hadStingRaysfor over a decade," saidVonn.

• RCMPcan spy on yourcellphone, court records reveal
• Police secrecy onStingRaycellphonesurveillance device challenged

She said a recent Quebec court case exploring a 2010RCMPoperation calledProject Clemenza a Montreal crime family killing investigation revealed theRCMPhad usedStingRaysin 30 different operations, targetingmore than 50 subjects.

'Back and forth'overStingRayuse

The Vancouver Police Department responded to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request filed by the Pivot Legal Society in July 2015, saying the police service did not own aStingRay.

In a letter dated May 25, 2016, police lawyer Darrin Hurwitz stated that"the Vancouver police advises that it does not have this device and does not hold records responsive to your access request of July 23, 2015."

Douglas King of the Pivot Legal Society said the response was evasive and asked for further information and clarification.

"We know theRCMPhas the device and has been lending it out," said King.

"We've asked [the Vancouver police] do you have access to the device? Do you use it? Will you have access in the future? Do you have access to data collected by it?"

Earlier requests to the police for information were met with refusals, and arguments that any information that was divulged could compromise investigative techniques.