NEWS RELEASE

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

  May 7, 1998 Contact: Karen Redmond

 

  Federal Applications For Wiretaps Down in 1997,
State Applications Rise

The total number of applications for wiretap orders by federal and state courts rose 3 percent from 1996 to 1997. State wiretap applications increased by 9 percent over last year, while those from federal courts actually decreased by 2 percent, following a 9 percent increase in 1996. The information is compiled in the 1997 Wiretap Report, a Report of the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts on Applications for Orders Authorizing or Approving the Interception of Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communications, which is submitted annually to Congress by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Forty-two states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and the federal government currently have laws that authorize courts to issue orders permitting wire, oral, or electronic surveillance. During 1997, a total of 24 jurisdictions used at least one of these three types of surveillance as an investigative tool.

Between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 1997, 1,186 applications were authorized, including 569 by federal judges and 617 by state judges. Wiretap applications in New York (304 applications), New Jersey (70 applications), and Florida (57 applications) accounted for 70 percent of all authorizations approved by state judges. Of the interceptions authorized, a total of 1,094 intercept devices were actually installed.

In 1997, 73 percent of all applications for intercepts--870 cases--cited narcotics as the most serious offense under investigation. The use of federal intercepts to conduct drug investigations was most common in the Central District of California (59 applications). On the state level, the New York City Special Narcotics Bureau conducted the most drug investigations, with the number of authorizations obtained for drug-related intercepts more than doubling from 78 in 1996 to 161 in 1997. Nationwide, gambling (98 applications) and racketeering (93 applications) were each specified in 8 percent of intercept applications as the most serious offenses under investigation in 1997.

During 1997, the average length of an original authorization was 28 days, the same as the average length for an extension. A total of 1,028 extensions were requested and authorized in 1997, up 16 percent from last year's 887. The most common location for the placement of wiretaps in 1997 was a single-family dwelling, a type of location that includes houses, rowhouses, townhouses, and duplexes. The telephone wiretap was the most common type of surveillance device used.

As of December 31, 1997, a total of 3,086 persons were arrested based on electronic surveillance activity, 25 percent more than in 1996. Furthermore, 18 percent of those arrested (542 persons) were convicted, although this percentage is lower than that of individuals convicted in 1996 (20 percent). Federal wiretaps were responsible for the majority of convictions in 1997 (54 percent.)

Each federal and state judge is required to file a written report with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) on each application for an order authorizing the interception of a wire, oral or electronic communication (18 U.S. C. 2519(1)). Prosecuting officials who applied for intercept orders are required to submit reports to the AO on all orders terminated during the previous calendar year. No report is required when an order is issued with the consent of one of the principle parties to the communications. A summary report on authorized intercepts is attached. The full report can be found on the Judiciary's homepage at www.uscourts.gov.

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