BOSTON – Attorney General Martha Coakley and other law enforcement officials launched a renewed push Monday to expand and update state wiretapping laws that predate cellphones and other modern-day forms of communication.
The bill also would change the law’s definition of organized crime so that it goes beyond organizations such as the Mafia and allows police to seek permission from the courts to wiretap dangerous youth gangs or human trafficking networks.
Coakley called the bill a common-sense approach to modernizing a decades-old law.
“It’s really like saying, ‘We’re going to ask our local police to still ride on horses while criminals have taken over automobiles,”‘ Coakley said at a briefing on the legislation.
Critics have raised questions about privacy and the possibility that police could abuse expanded wiretapping authority.
Similar efforts to revise the law have fallen short, including last year when the Senate attached it to a bill revamping the state’s sentencing laws but the House did not. But Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, has signaled his willingness to back the measure this time.
“This statute dates back to 1968,” said Norwood Police Chief William Brooks, president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. “Crime and technology has evolved since then and it seems ironic that a defendant’s own words can be used against him if he is a loan shark or a bookmaker, but not if he’s a killer.”
Supporters of the proposed changes say they would help police target gang violence and the proliferation of illegal guns. They cited a 2011 decision by the state’s highest court that said the state’s current wiretapping laws could not be used in prosecuting killings by loosely organized street gangs.
“I’m unsure of the last time we had a report that La Cosa Nostra fired a round in the city of Boston. But we had a significant takedown of violent youth gangs just last week,” said Boston Police Superintendent Daniel Linskey.
Coakley said privacy issues are important to law enforcement and that the bill seeks to balance the civil rights of individuals with the desire to get criminals off the street.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.