Cops are reportedly buying cheaper cell phone trackers to avoid getting search warrants

Law enforcement agencies have been buying up cheaper, more portable cell phone trackers, apparently in a bid to avoid obtaining warrants before tracking, The Wall Street Journal found Wednesday.

Federal government agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration have reportedly bought these devices over the past few years, as well as at least 25 state and local agencies.

The idea is that the smaller devices, which have names like Jugular and Wolfhound, only cost a few thousand dollars. Unlike larger counterparts, the tracking devices use what's called passive surveillance, by collecting radio waves when phones being tracked interact with cell towers.

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The practice, which doesn't allow users to listen in on conversations, isn't thought to be explicitly illegal under state law in the way that active surveillance often is, so the cheaper devices are arguably designed to help police skirt the law and avoid obtaining necessary search warrants. Some experts argue using trackers to find cell phones in people's houses could violate the Fourth Amendment.

Read the full report here.