Tracking the Bad Guys: Legal Considerations in Using GPS

The ready availability and affordability of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices allows law enforcement to efficiently, accurately, and safely track the movement of vehicles. The results of GPS tracking will create a permanent and credible record of precisely where the tracked vehicle was and the time it was there. To use this technology, officers must be able to lawfully get to the target vehicle and install certain devices.

• The simplest form of installation consists of a GPS receiver, antenna, power supply, and logging device that record where the vehicle has moved. Depending on the equipment, the data on the logging device can be remotely obtained electronically or may require physically retrieving the device to access the data. The devices could be in single or multiple units.
• Live tracking applications will require the above items (less perhaps the logging device), but will also require a transmitter and separate antenna for that transmitter.

This document surveys some fundamental legal considerations for federal officers and agents in placing and using GPS devices to track vehicles. Because many states have separate statutory schemes, only brief mention will be made of state law in Section VIII.

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Source: FLETC

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