Senate Subcommittee Considers Update to Wiretap Laws

A Senate subcommittee is looking at whether wiretap laws need to be updated to include secret video surveillance.

The field hearing in Philadelphia, which is being led by U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., comes amid a lawsuit accusing a Pennsylvania school district of spying on students through webcams installed on school-issued laptops.

An electronic privacy expert scheduled to testify, Kevin Bankston, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is urging Congress to include videotaped surveillance under federal wiretap laws, giving the same protections that are given to secret audio recording.

The Pennsylvania lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in February, involves the Lower Merion school district, which is accused to activating built-in webcams to spy on students. The district claims that the feature in question can snap a picture of the operator and the screen if the computer is reported lost or stolen.

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‘Covert’ Surveillance Cameras Coming To Chicago

Blue-light surveillance cameras in Chicago's high-crime neighborhoods will someday be augmented by "covert" cameras that "fit inside of a match box" and keep the bad guys guessing, Police Supt. Jody Weis said.

Now that crime-ravaged communities have been saturated with hundreds of blue-light cameras, Weis says it's time to take Big Brother technology to "the next level."

That means surveillance cameras similar to the hidden cameras used to snare corrupt politicians.

"They are incredibly small. I've seen some that would fit inside of a match box. . . . These can be secreted in locations that nobody would ever detect. It's amazing where we're going with technology," Weis said during a taping of the WLS-AM Radio Program, "Connected to Chicago."

Blue-light cameras virtually announce their presence, giving drug dealers and gang-bangers a heads-up to move out of range. Covert cameras keep them guessing, the superintendent said.

"You use the covert [cameras] to perhaps push them into an area where you have coverage. If we can interrupt their intelligence cycle, we will have the upper hand," he said.

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71-year old women caught on camera stealing out of Church Collection Plate

A 71-year-old church volunteer was caught on surveillance camera stealing thousands of dollars from St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Pontiac Michigan was charged Monday in the crime.

71 year old Salley Crake entered not guilty pleas in a Pontiac courtroom Tuesday to felony charges of embezzlement and larceny. The 71 year old women was caught on camera stuffing money down her pants. When she was arrested Monday she had $800 on her.

Police said the women had been stealing hundreds of dollars once a week from the church .They don't know how long she has been stealing money from the church but suspects it was long before she was caught.

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Visual Management System Unveils Cost Effective, Portable, Wireless, Digital Surveillance System

FlexTH is the first of its kind to deliver an affordable monitoring solution that just about anyone can install and requires no wiring. FlexTH can be used to remotely monitor just about any location including, but not limited to, homes, small businesses, vehicles and mobile services such as police and emergency responders.

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Woman Sues Landlord for Alleged Peeping

A Norristown woman has sued her landlord for allegedly using electronic surveillance devices to videotape her most intimate moments.

The woman, who resides at an apartment building in the 1400 block of Green Valley Road that is owned by accused peeper Thomas C. Daley, is seeking in excess of $100,000 in damages against Daley.

In the suit filed in Montgomery County Court on Thursday, the woman claimed she suffered psychological and emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, depression and sleeplessness since Daley's alleged activities were uncovered by authorities earlier this week.

"This man gutted my client's sense of personal security and privacy through one of the most vile ways imaginable," alleged Norristown lawyer John I. McMahon Jr., who represents the woman.

McMahon alleged in the suit that between March 2007 and September 2008 Daley regularly captured and viewed video images of the woman, in various states of undress, on dozens of occasions. Daley, the suit alleged, installed numerous hidden cameras throughout the woman's apartment, including the bathroom, living room and bedroom.

"(Daley's) surreptitious installation of the electronic surveillance equipment was done with the sole objective and purpose of gratifying his sexual desires by viewing and examining plaintiff's naked body within the privacy of her own home, without her knowledge or consent," McMahon wrote in the lawsuit.

National Football League Will Check on Taping, Radios, Spying Devices

The NFL is continuing to monitor spying devices following the penalties levied by commissioner Roger Goodell this week against the New England Patriots.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Sunday that new memos on both videotaping and electronic surveillance of signals have gone out to all 32 teams reminding them of bans on the various types of surveillance.

Telephone Surveillance and Bugging - Is it Legal?

Investigation News - Telephone Surveillance and Bugging - Is it Legal? - PInow.com Investigator Directory: "Recording conversations or listening in to telephone conversations using wiretap is strictly controlled by laws. Understanding how these laws work protects everyone’s privacy and can help prevent needless lawsuits.

Telephone bugging, telephone surveillance, wiretapping: these are just a few names for what is essentially the same thing — listening into someone else’s conversation or recording it for later use. While there are many instances of people whose telephones are illegally tapped, placing a bug on a phone must be authorized by a search warrant or court order. While there are plenty of legitimate reasons to want to listen to someone’s telephone conversation, knowing what the laws are surrounding private conversations is important for anyone who wants to avoid messy lawsuit.

According to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, 1,773 wiretap orders were issued by courts in 2005 alone. Obviously, it is much harder to get accurate statistics on illegal telephone surveillance, although it does occur."

What is telephone surveillance?

Computer Surveillance - What Does it Offer?

Investigation News - Computer Surveillance - What Does it Offer? - PInow.com Investigator Directory: "Computer monitoring software can uncover exactly what computer users are doing online. Anyone interested in installing this type of software, though, needs to select the program carefully.

According to a 2001 American Management Association survey, 77.7% of major U.S. companies used computer surveillance to check employee e-mail, Internet use, phone calls, computer use, and files. Some companies even used computer surveillance to videotape workers. The reason is not hard to see: According to IDC Research, 30 to 40% of Internet use during work hours is for personal use. Employers are concerned that they are losing worker productivity, thanks to employees who use work hours to surf the Internet and to send personal email. Employers are also concerned that workers who use company computers to commit fraud crimes, or use the system to send sexually explicit materials may embroil the company in a lawsuit.

It’s not just employers who are concerned, either. Parents and spouses are worried as well. According to a US Congressional Study submitted on June 8, 2000, more than 20% of children have been solicited for sex online. According to the 1999 Greenfield and Rivet Internet Use and Abuse Survey 1999, 57% of Internet users use their Internet connection to flirt. The high proliferation of online dating sites – some catering specifically to married people looking for “discreet” affairs – also gives many couples pause. Computer monitoring allows anyone who is worried about an unfaithful partner, an ineffective employee, or a child at risk to monitor computer use for signs of trouble."

What is computer surveillance?

Electronic Surveillance — How is it affecting your Life?

Investigation News - Electronic Surveillance — How is it affecting your Life? - PInow.com Investigator Directory: "Electronic surveillance in its many forms is everywhere today, potentially creating greater safety for the public and for companies. Knowing how and where to use this type of surveillance can help individuals and companies make the right security decisions.

While plenty of people are aware of the fact that there are video cameras monitoring them inside of stores and banks, few people give much thought to the role that electronic surveillance plays in everyday life. However, there’s no doubt that e-surveillance has proliferated in recent years, with the federal government making moves to monitor more correspondence and personal information exchange in the private sector, and more companies seeking added steps to protect against fraud and theft.

In 2003, Enron executives certainly had their lives affected by electronic surveillance. In that year, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission posted e-mail from Enron on its website. Outside surveillance does not always have to be that dramatic, either. Every day, without realizing it, someone may be reading someone else’s personal e-mail, listening into a conversation, or reading correspondence meant for someone else’s eyes only."

What is e-surveillance?