Less Than Half of Wiretap-Related Arrests Lead to Convictions
Friday, May 01, 2009
The Administrative Office of the United States Courts has released statistics on non-terrorism-related wiretap reports from 1998 to 2008 showing that much of the spending on wiretap technology might not be cost-effective. Wiretaps installed between 1998 and 2008 have, at best, produced convictions from just half of the arrests they led to. In 2008, 4,133 people were arrested as a result of wiretaps, but only 810 were convicted. The average cost per order of wiretaps is $47,624, with federal wiretaps skyrocketing to $70,536. Most of the targets are suspected of dealing drugs. In 2008, 95% of wiretaps involved mobile phones or pagers, and, on average, they lasted for 29 days.
-Emma Nagy, David Wallechinsky
- Top Stories
- Unusual News
- Where is the Money Going?
- Controversies
- U.S. and the World
- Appointments and Resignations
- Latest News
- Can Biden Murder Trump and Get Away With it?
- Electoral Advice for the Democratic and Republican Parties
- U.S. Ambassador to Greece: Who is George Tsunis?
- Henry Kissinger: A Pre-Obituary
- U.S. Ambassador to Belize: Who is Michelle Kwan?
Comments