Public safety goes mobile in Eastern Iowa

It was only about 15 years ago that Iowa City Police Sgt. Scott Gaarde, then a young beat officer, was an inaugural member of a specialized unit in the department tasked with taking on gangs and drug activity.

Yet, compared to today, the differences in technology are vast.

“In the beginning, a lot of people still carried pagers,” Gaarde said. “Landlines were far more prevalent.”

As Gaarde points out, drug dealers have changed with the times. Like their law-abiding counterparts in society, most who engage in the illegal drug enterprise can be found with a cellphone in their pocket. Police said the change in technology means both police and criminals have changed the way they operate.

It's a double-edged sword in a digital age.

“It's a great tool; it's helped us identify a lot of things,” said Lt. Brent Long, of the Cedar Rapids Police Department. “And it's a terrible tool, because it's been able to help people reach out and grow in some illegal means. So, it's actually helped and hurt us.”

Changing face of crime

Cellphones have changed the face of many crimes, Long said. The handheld devices have revolutionized sex trafficking, child pornography and identity theft, but some of the most prevalent changes have occurred in the drug trade.

First and foremost, it makes drug dealers much more accessible, Long said.

“Before, you had a pretty good sense of when people would be available,” he said. “It would be by (landline) phone or if you saw them. Now, texting makes you available 24 hours a day. So, when you're talking about a drug dealer, if someone has some drugs for sale, it's not just limited to certain times, it could be any time.”

The flip side of that, however, is that setting up those details - particularly via text message - leaves a digital footprint. Police said evidence gained from a seized cellphone can strengthen a case.

“There's always more information to be gained,” Gaarde said. “A lot of the information you're looking for is to corroborate information or to learn information, or both.”

But that doesn't mean police can rely solely on a text exchange or a few photos to get a conviction.

“Before you make the arrests, you have to build that case,” said Long. “To get the warrant, that will be part of the reason. But, is that individually enough? I don't think we're comfortable enough to say just some text messages ... We're going to build more of a case, but it certainly plays a part in it.”

Iowa City police computer forensics investigator Robert Gass estimates that 50 percent of his work is drug-related. Gass also provides assistance to other area departments.

“They're going to be looking for text messages,” Gass said. “They're going to be looking for pictures.”

When a phone - or tablet - is brought to Gass, he takes the device through three processes. The first, logical extraction, downloads everything that would be visible on the phone. The second, file system extraction, grabs all of the files and folders on the phone and the third, physical extraction, makes a bit-by-bit copy of the phone's memory.

“File system and physical extraction is where you get a lot of deleted content,” he said.

Gass said that content usually won't make or break a case, but can often be the “cherry on top.”

Privacy concerns

Randall Wilson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said his organization has two primary concerns with the use of cellphones in criminal investigations - how was the data obtained and what was done with the information after it was obtained.

“I think we do have to acknowledge that relevant evidence of crimes can be found on cellphones,” Randall said. “So, in regards to specific crimes, we have no problem with police using cellphone information if the information was seized consistent with the Fourth Amendment.”

But, Wilson said the ACLU wants to make sure police departments across the state and country aren't obtaining cellphone information and using that to build a database tracking citizens - law-abiding or otherwise.

“It's a gross invasion of our privacy for millions of Americans not involved in crime,” he said. “We don't want that level of surveillance in this country.”

Wilson said the ACLU recently asked large police departments across the state what they were doing with information obtained from cellphones.

“They're not doing it here, yet,” he said. “I think that's the best we can say.”

So, who benefits more from the benefits cellphones offer: police or criminals? It's difficult to say, according to police.

“It helps us communicate more,” Gaarde said. “On the same token, other folks are communicating like we do. I think it's kind of beneficial for both entities, really ... From a police perspective, as technology changes, we have to change with it.”