Imagine for a moment that every policeman in Britain were issued with two or three tracking devices, each the size of a small packet of chewing gum. Magnetically attached to a car, it would record the target’s every movement for 48 hours using its inbuilt GPS. When retrieved and plugged into a computer, it would plot the places visited by the suspect as a line on Google earth.
Now imagine the same device equipped with a simple SIM card and mobile phone transmitter. A little larger now, perhaps the size of a small matchbox, the device can be programmed to send a text to a pre-assigned number revealing its position, speed and direction of travel. Send a simple SMS code and it might reply with *00015.6716,E,5108.3743,N,8.87,338.42*060909,151948.000** to reveal that it is at location 000°15.6716’E and 51°08.3743’N travelling at 8.87mph at a bearing of 338° on 6 September at 15:19 GMT.
Now before the police were issued with this kind of thing, one would imagine a fairly extensive debate. Is this not a gross invasion of privacy? Should the Home Secretary be informed? Is it admissible as evidence?
As with CCTV, it poses interesting ethical and legislative questions. However technology now moves at a far faster pace than legislation. Never mind the police, ordinary members of the public can buy these items on eBay today for around £30 (£60 for the SMS version). I know because I just did. The SMS above shows that last Sunday the suspect (me) was stuck in slow-moving traffic while proceeding in a northerly direction on the A26 en route to a cinema in Tunbridge Wells.
Now, like it or not, tracking devices are set to get cheaper and cheaper and smaller and smaller until they are practically invisible and almost free (already the cost to a manufacturer of adding GPS functionality to a mobile phone is under £1).
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