Among the enumerated rights set forth in the Bill of Rights, we find those specified in the Fourth Amendment: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

For years, I, and apparently many other Americans, have been under the persistent delusion that the Bill of Rights was actually ratified in 1791; I also seem to remember some sort of a to-do over the Fourteenth Amendment: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” We must have imagined all of this, because the Powers That Be keep ignoring these amendments as if they were never even there.

As a case in point, please consider the New York City Police Department. According to the Daily News, casual unreasonable search and seizure is the order of the day, when it comes to a crucial piece of personal information:

The NYPD is amassing a database of cell phone users, instructing cops to log serial numbers from suspects' phones in hopes of connecting them to past or future crimes.

In the era of disposable, anonymous cell phones, the file could be a treasure-trove for detectives investigating drug rings and other criminal enterprises, police sources say.

"It's used to help build cases," one source said of the new initiative.

"It doesn't replace the human element, like debriefing prisoners, but it's another tool to use that we didn't have in the past."

A recent internal memo says that when cops make an arrest, they should remove the suspect's cell phone battery to avoid leakage — then jot down the International Mobile Equipment Identity number.

The IMEI number is registered with the service provider whenever a call is made.

And that data could allow a detective to match, for example, a cell phone used by one suspect to a phone used by another.

Cell battery leakage? Well, that’s creative, at least. Who could have dreamed that cell phone battery leaks would become the latest basis for warrantless searches.

One can almost hear the mock outrage of advocates of such invasions of privacy, who will recite the usual roster of justifications:

• This is necessary to keep our streets safe,
• It is undoubtedly averting the deaths of millions of people at the hands of terrorists who want to take away our freedoms, and,
• “It shouldn’t bother you if you have nothing to hide.”

These are all shopworn excuses for abridging our liberties; perhaps you would add a few of your own favorites to the list. The fact is that the alleged amassing of IMEIs is not only manifestly an unreasonable search (otherwise, why would it be necessary to allegedly make up stories about leaky batteries?), it is also stupid.

First, it is important to understand that there is a difference between the IMEI and the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). The IMEI is the identification number for the phone, the IMSI is the identification number for the user. (It is somewhat like the distinction between a street address (IMEI) and a resident (IMSI). When you "move" between phones, you can keep the same IMSI, even though your IMEI changes. So, too, if you sell or give away your phone, the new user (with, presumably, a new IMSI) will have the IMEI which goes with the phone.

The IMEI becomes relevant the day someone steals your phone. If the IMEI of a particular phone is "blacklisted," then no one, in theory, may use it: even with a different IMSI, the phone is still inoperable because the device’s identifier has been blacklisted.

But for the police to be gathering IMEIs is stupid because the number can be changed. Granted, it is already illegal to change an IMEI in the United Kingdom, which probably means it will be here, as well, before too long, but think about: if you are already prepared to violate the law by stealing a phone, why is it an unthinkable leap to change the IMEI? Furthermore, a person could receive stolen merchandise with a changed IMEI, and have no way of verifying that it had actually been stolen. Furthermore, an IMEI could presumably be changed to match another phone which already legally exists.

All of this gets very interesting from a legal perspective, when a person’s IMEI enters the realm of "evidence." Again, according to the Daily News:

The IMEI number is registered with the service provider whenever a call is made.

And that data could allow a detective to match, for example, a cell phone used by one suspect to a phone used by another.

There are limits to the data's usefulness — all Chinese-made cells sold in India have the same number and some overseas cells are embedded with fake numbers.

The capacity for mischief using an IMEI is almost limitless. Retrieving someone’s IMEI is usually as simple as typing *#06# into their phone. If New York’s Finest have already surreptitiously registered your IMEI, and then someone elects to "borrow" your number for criminal purposes, or if you've sold the phone, or given it away, guess who’s going to get a knock at their front door?

The capacity for tracking information is expanding so rapidly, it is truly breathtaking. The ability to correlate the numbers that make up so much of our lives is giving rise to dangerous threats to our right to live our own lives in peace. Suffice to say, the police gathering one more piece of personal information without our consent, and allegedly in the absence of the accusation of, let alone conviction for, a crime, makes all those affected a little less free.

Rt. Rev. James Heiser has served as Pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Malone, Texas, while maintaining his responsibilities as publisher of Repristination Press, which he established in 1993 to publish academic and popular theological books to serve the Lutheran Church.  Heiser has also served since 2005 as the Dean of Missions for The Augustana Ministerium and in 2006 was called to serve as Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA). An advocate of manned space exploration, Heiser serves on the Steering Committee of the Mars Society. His publications include two books; The Office of the Ministry in N. Hunnius' Epitome Credendorum (1996) and A Shining City on a Higher Hill: Christianity and the Next New World (2006), as well as dozens of journal articles and book reviews.

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Stophel said:

	... You could not put a gun to my head and give me a cell phone. I'm tracked enough as it is, here on the internet.
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October 13, 2009
Votes: +3

DDW said:

New York again!!! You know, it seems that some caustic, corrosive, destructive force breeds in and emanates from that place. It wouldn't hurt my feelings one teeny, tiny little bit to wake up some morning and hear that the entire place had vanished into thin air. This has absolutely nothing to do with the subject, but I lived in San Diego, California just a wee bit shy of 30 years. I can tell you for a fact that the most destructive things) that happened to the friendly, easy-going, laid-back, relatively inexpensive San Diego lifestyle (indeed all of southern California) came from New York. It's a wonder that New York(ers) never found a way to destroy the beautiful southern California weather.

report abuse vote down vote up

October 13, 2009
Votes: +1