Radcliffe police present phone-pinging and safe-storage policies required for accreditation
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Summary
Police Chief Cross presented two policies for council review: safe storage of firearms and procedures for requesting call-location information from carriers. Staff emphasized carriers and legal process (search warrant when needed) control location data; supervisor approval is required before requests are sent.
Police Chief Cross presented two policies intended to meet accreditation standards: a safe-storage-of-firearms policy and a policy governing requests for call-location information (commonly described as a "phone ping").
Chief Cross explained the phone-location policy covers procedures officers must follow when attempting to obtain location data from wireless carriers for missing-person cases, abductions or serious crimes. Staff stressed the city does not have direct access to carrier location databases; requests for historic or real-time location information must go to providers such as Verizon or T‑Mobile and sometimes require a search warrant. Chief Cross said a supervisor must approve requests to avoid unsanctioned or routine pinging of devices.
Councilmembers thanked the chief and noted the policies are part of accreditation requirements. KLC (accreditation guidance referenced in the meeting) had reviewed the policies and staff reported no substantive issues from that review.
What’s next: Council accepted the presentation; staff will finalize the written policies for formal adoption in a future meeting as part of the accreditation process.