“The number of federal and state wiretaps reported in 2015 increased 17 percent from 2014. A total of 4,148 wiretaps were reported as authorized in 2015, with 1,403 authorized by federal judges and 2,745 authorized by state judges. Compared to the applications approved during 2014, the number approved by federal judges increased 10 percent in 2015, and the number approved by state judges increased 21 percent. No wiretap applications were reported as denied in 2015,” the report stated.
Over the entire span of the research, only eight requests were denied, and there were never two request denials in a single year.
The requests range from FBI, state, or local police seeking to monitor computer activity, to wiretapping a home, but 96% of the requests last year were to track and listen in on cellphone calls.
While encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp and iMessage became more popular last year, only six of the federal requests were for encrypted material — two of which were decrypted.
Drug offenses were the most prevalent type of investigation using wiretaps, making up 79% of the interception applications in 2015. The second most cited crime was homicide, making up 5% of last year’s requests, as well as conspiracy, which also made up roughly 5% of the applications.
The study also found that the average length of interception last year was 43 days, 9 days above the 2014 average.
“The federal wiretap with the most intercepts occurred during a narcotics investigation in the District of South Carolina and resulted in the interception of 81,122 messages over 300 days, including 35,402 incriminating interceptions. The state wiretap with the most intercepts was a 120-day wiretap for a narcotics investigation in Maricopa County, Arizona, which resulted in the interception of 412,298 cell phone conversations, of which 15,566 were incriminating,” the report detailed.
