The proposal would allow law enforcement to use intercepted phone calls, emails, Facebook Messenger chats and other electronic communications to build cases for a wide swath of crimes.
L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey is sponsoring legislation that would expand state wiretapping laws.
The bill’s author, state Sen. Tom Umberg defended the legislation. He said the state’s existing law includes enough privacy protections to ensure that wiretaps aren’t improperly used, but he supports wiretap evidence being available in civil service hearings. A former federal and military prosecutor, Umberg said he is backing the bill as a public safety measure.
State wiretapping laws, which largely follow federal rules, are meant to prevent undue invasions of privacy and keep law enforcement from using such surveillance to fish for crimes that aren’t deemed the most serious. Wiretap orders are reserved for crimes such as murder, drug and gang conspiracies and violent felonies.
In Los Angeles, there were 181 wiretap applications resulting in 49 arrests and two convictions that year. In one case cited by the attorney general, L.A. County investigators used wiretaps to seize more than 165 kilograms of methamphetamine, 193 kilograms of cocaine, 33 kilograms of heroin and more than $3.42 million.
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