In perhaps the most compelling response to our cell site simulator census yet, the Sunrise Police Department in Florida has informed us that for just south of $13,000, we can get our hands on 13,915 emails and other electronic records of the controversial devices - the largest trove we’ve yet seen.
Fearing this might be too good to be true, we followed-up, and Sunrise PD confirmed that these are, indeed, responsive documents.
Cell site simulators are one of law enforcement’s most closely guarded secrets, making these documents a potential treasure trove of information. To have 14,000 records about IMSI catcher surveillance released, would be astronomically more than any police department has so far. Anaheim PD has released in excess of 500 pages of documents, and Chicago PD has released 300 pages of records. The FBI released to us in early 2015 about 5000 pages of Stingray records. But those landmark victories would pale in comparison to being able to examine 14,000 records about the use of these enigmatic machines.
We can’t free these documents without your help. We’ve opened the request to crowdfund, and even if we don’t raise the full amount, we’ll renegoiate for as much as we can get, so every bit helps.
Donate via the crowdfund button below, or on the request page, and thanks again for your help.
Image via Sunrise Police Facebook
