US Marshal Service's Electronic Surveillance Manual

Last week, the FOIA fairy delivered 25 pages of internal rules that outline when and how the US Marshal Service uses electronic surveillance methods. According to the cover letters accompanying the documents, the policies are "obsolete" and that "the office is preparing to rewrite/revise it, which could take 30 days or longer to complete."

The full document can be downloaded here (pdf)

The most interesting things that jumped out to me:

1. One of the most heavily redacted sections relates to the use of trigger fish, or cell site analyzers, which allow the government to locate phones without the assistance of the phone company.


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2. The special rules that USMS investigators must follow before wiretapping VIPs such as Members of Congress, Governors and Judges:


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3. The revelation that USMS advises investigators to always seek "hybrid" 2703(d) + pen register orders, rather than plain pen register orders when they are investigating a suspect.


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