Are police allowed to use listening devices like miricle ear?

Question

Are police allowed to use listening devices like miricle ear?

Answer 1

If they are listening to someone in public where a "reasonable" person would have no expectation of privacy they can use any type of listening device allowed by their department. In my state they cannot record but only listen and make notes.

With a warrant they can listen any place or to anyone listed in the warrant.

Miracle ear and those parabolic mikes you see advertised and on TV are kind of useless because you hear way to much. Point it at someone a half a block away and you hear the cars three miles behind the target also and everything else in between.

There are good ultra directional mikes but few departments have them or a need for them, they are very expensive.

Answer 2

YES!

Realistically they can do pretty much whatever they want. Now, whether or their actions will hold up in court is sometimes another story. In the current political/judicial climate, we see law makers and law enforcement leaning much more toward sacrificing individual personal liberties for the sake of providing "security" for the larger population.

With that said though, as I understand it, the Miracle Ear and similar devices work pretty well if you are reasonably close to whatever you are trying to hear. Generally speaking, if a conversation is supposed to be private, it is presumed (legally, anyway) that it would take place in a "private place" like inside a private home. Legally, you should have no expectation of "privacy" if you are conversing in a public place, like in a restaurant or a taxi...even if you THINK you & the person you are talking to are the only ones there.

Answer 3

Yes, but it would have to be approved first.  Trust me, they have better equipment.