KTVU's "2 Investigates" has confirmed that law enforcement agencies in the East Bay that use a controversial cell phone monitoring device are now looking to upgrade the system, potentially making it more powerful.
According to documents released by the City of Oakland, the Oakland Police Department, Fremont Police Department, and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office have jointly applied for a federal grant to upgrade their Stingray cell phone tracking device.
The exact capabilities offered by the upgrade, which is called Hailstorm, are still largely unknown. The recently released records indicate that the upgrade comes with a $535,000 price tag, but they offer no details about the device's exact capabilities or how local police departments are using the technology. 2 Investigates has learned that the Hailstorm upgrade will allow the Stingray system to track newer model cell phones that use 4G LTE. =====
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