Small and easily hidden, GPS tracking devices allow the police to watch the movements of individuals with precision and stealth. In some investigations, police have secretly attached a GPS tracker to a suspect’s car for days or weeks at a time. The resulting data allows police to build a detailed picture of an individual’s life –  where you live, work, shop, and eat, when you leave in the morning and return home at night. It shows the government which organizations you belong to, and who you spend your time with. Many departments also use GPS trackers, embedded in ankle bracelets, to enforce house arrest and parole orders. Additionally, some police departments have begun using GPS to track their own officers’ movements. 

CIVIL LIBERTIES CONCERNS

In the past, cost limited the ability of the police to follow people;  assigning officers to tail a suspect at all times is a serious investment of time and resources.  But the ease and low cost of attaching a GPS receiver to a person’s car changes matters. The GPS receivers police departments use can easily track your car for days or weeks. While the government has argued that this type of location tracking is no different from the old-fashioned tailing of suspects by detectives, in fact it is much more intrusive – like having a police officer in your back seat 24/7. Indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court has found that prolonged GPS tracking constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that investigators need a warrant for long-term GPS tracking. In 2003, the Washington State Supreme Court found that the state constitution requires police to get a warrant before attaching a GPS tracker to a suspect’s car.