Section 1295.10  Purpose

 

The purpose of this Part is to delineate regulations for the certification, periodic recertification, and revocation of certification of electronic criminal surveillance officers; to specify standards for procedures and equipment used to intercept and record private oral communications; and to adopt measures to protect privileged communications and minimize monitoring of nonpertinent conversations, while permitting the legitimate investigative aims of law enforcement to be pursued.

 

Section 1295.20  Definitions

 

a)         Unless specified otherwise, all terms shall have the meanings set forth in Article 108B of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 [725 ILCS 5/108B].

 

b)         For purpose of this Part, the following additional definitions apply:

 

"Act" means Article 108B of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 [725 ILCS 5/108B].

 

"Call Content" means the oral (audio) communication received from a communication's common carrier.

 

"Call Data" means the data received from a communications common carrier that includes, but is not limited to, signaling, call progress signals, dialed digits, and caller identification.

 

"Chief Executive Officer of a Law Enforcement Agency" means a chief of police, sheriff, director, superintendent, or other title that serves as the head of a law enforcement agency.

 

"Department" means the Illinois Department of State Police.

 

"Dialed Number Recorder" means a device used to register telephone numbers, either dialed or pulse dialed.

 

"Director" means the Director of the Illinois Department of State Police.

 

"Electronic Criminal Surveillance Officer Certification" refers to registered credentials issued by the Department and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board that identify those aspects of electronic criminal surveillance that the officer is authorized to perform.

 

"Electronic Criminal Surveillance Officers Training Course" means a course or series of courses of instruction provided by the Department, in cooperation with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, in the legal, practical, and technical aspects of the interception of private oral communications and related investigative and prosecutive techniques.

 

"Electronic Recording" means a digital recording of intercepted conversations made in accordance with the intercept device's design and function and stored in a manner to protect from editing or alteration.

 

"Intercept Device" means the specialized equipment developed to interface with a communications common carrier's equipment in order to capture data, including, but not limited to, call data and call content.

 

"Minimization" refers to measures initiated to prevent the interception of privileged communications and to limit the interception of conversations which are innocent and lack evidentiary or investigative value.

 

"Retired law enforcement officer" means a person:

 

who is a graduate of a police training institute or academy and who, after graduating, served for at least 15 consecutive years as a sworn full-time peace officer qualified to carry firearms for any federal or State department or agency or for any unit of local government of Illinois;

 

who has retired as a local, State, or federal peace officer in a publicly created peace officer retirement system; and

 

whose service in law enforcement was honorably terminated through retirement or disability and not as result of discipline, suspension, or discharge.

 

"Technical Service Unit" is a component of a law enforcement agency charged with the responsibility for providing support to investigative activities by operating electronic surveillance apparatus, including electronic criminal surveillance devices, alarms, communications apparatus, video equipment, photographic equipment, and night vision devices.

 

(Source:  Amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 13430, effective October 5, 2021)

 

Section 1295.30  Qualification, Certification, and Recertification of Officers

 

No person shall engage in the interception of private oral communication as described in the Act, unless authorized to do so pursuant to certification provisions elaborated in this Part.

 

a)         Qualifications – The qualifications of all candidates for certification as electronic criminal surveillance officers shall be specified in an application to the Director from the chief executive officer of the law enforcement agency which the candidate represents.  The application shall include a recommendation of the candidate by the chief executive officer.  Other information to be supplied shall include:

 

1)         The candidate's name, sex, date of birth, and agency identification number;

 

2)         The candidate's business address and telephone numbers; and

 

3)         Statement that the candidate is a full-time law enforcement officer or a retired law enforcement officer.

 

b)         Certification – Electronic Criminal Surveillance Officer (ECSO) training and certification shall be provided by the Department.  ECSO training and training for recertification shall be certified by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board (see 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1720) and shall include training in the legal, practical, and technical aspects of the interception of private oral communications and related investigation and prosecution techniques. 

 

c)         Upon successful completion of training, an officer shall be certified by the Illinois State Police and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board and shall be authorized to perform the following tasks:

 

1)         Preparing petitions for the authority to intercept private oral communications in accordance with the provisions of the Act;

 

2)         Intercepting and supervising the interception of conversations;

 

3)         Handling, safeguarding, and utilizing evidence derived from such conversations; and

 

4)         Operating and maintaining equipment used to intercept such conversations. 

 

d)         ECSO certification, unless renewed by recertification, expires in 5 years.

 

(Source:  Amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 13430, effective October 5, 2021)

 

Section 1295.40  Revocation of Certification

 

The Director, with the concurrence of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, shall have the power to revoke or suspend any certification granted under this Part.  The procedure to revoke or suspend certification shall be as follows:

 

a)         If the Director receives an allegation from any source that a certified Electronic Criminal Surveillance Officer is violating any law relating to electronic criminal surveillance or is violating any provision of this Part, the Director shall investigate the allegation.  The Director shall notify the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board of all such investigations.

 

b)         At the conclusion of the investigation, the Director shall review the findings with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board.

 

c)         If the Director and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board conclude that the officer has intentionally violated the law or has intentionally violated the civil rights of any party, the officer's certification shall be revoked, and the officer's credentials impounded and destroyed.  An officer whose credentials have been revoked shall not be eligible for certification or recertification for a period of 5 years.

 

d)         If the Director and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board conclude that the officer has violated any requirement of this Part, the officer's certification shall be suspended and impounded until the officer has successfully completed a recertification training course.

 

e)         Within 10 days after the decision, the Director shall notify in writing the officer and the chief executive officer of the agency employing the officer of any decision to revoke or suspend the officer's certification.

 

(Source:  Amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 13430, effective October 5, 2021)

 

Section 1295.50  Recording and Minimization Standards

 

Electronic Criminal Surveillance Officers shall comply with the minimization standards required by the Act and this Part:

 

a)         Minimization requires that the intercepting officer must use  judgement and background knowledge of the criminal investigation and its participants, together with facts and circumstances that develop in the overheard conversations, to refrain from intercepting their non-pertintent, innocent, or privileged conversations as they take place.

 

b)         Judgements concerning minimization decisions shall be based on the knowledge possessed by the interception officer at the time of the decision.  Examples of factors to be considered are as follows:

 

1)         The nature and scope of the criminal activity being investigated.

 

2)         The use of ambiguous, guarded, coded, or foreign language.

 

3)         The location of the telephone or facility.

 

4)         The expectation of the intercepted conversation containing statements relating to criminal conduct.

 

5)         The likelihood of the interception containing privileged communications.

 

c)         Officers authorized to supervise the interception of private oral communications shall, if possible, ascertain the identities and phone numbers of targeted conspirators, spouses, attorneys, clergymen, and physicians.  This information shall be disseminated to all officers charged with responsibility for intercepting the referenced communications in order to assist in identifying potentially privileged communications.

 

d)         Minimization shall be a simultaneous process involving the cessation of audio interception, monitoring and recording, and the registering of such information.  All such transactions shall be documented on the Intercept Log and/or electronic intercept device.

 

e)         Spot monitoring of apparently privileged and non-pertinent conversations shall be permitted in order to ensure that such conversations do not lose their privileged and innocent character.  This process shall be used to safeguard against instances where conspirators assume the identities of privileged parties to initiate non-pertinent conversations to mask criminal communications.  All spot monitoring shall be reflected on the Intercept Log and/or electronic intercept device.

 

(Source:  Amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 13430, effective October 5, 2021)

 

Section 1295.60  Documentation Requirements

 

The following documents shall be completed and maintained with respect to any interception of private oral communication authorized by the Act.  The log may be a paper form, or a digital record produced by the intercept device:

 

a)         The Monitor's Intercept Log shall include the monitors' names; the date and shift; the intercept case number; the designation number of recording media; the name of the subject; the court order number; and for each call, identification of the call as outgoing or incoming and the caller and called parties; the start and finish time of the call; call tag data; whether the call was pertinent; whether any minimization was required; if any spot checks were made; a summary of the call; and the initials of the party making the entry.

 

b)         The Monitor's Post Log shall include the case number; the shift and date; the case investigator; and for each individual present at the monitor post, the person's name and agency; the time in and time out of the monitor post; the person's reason for being at the monitoring post; and an acknowledgement that the person is aware of all instructions from judges, prosecutors, and supervising officers concerning the execution of the court order authorizing the intercept.

 

(Source:  Amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 13430, effective October 5, 2021)

 

Section 1295.70  Evidence Handling Procedures

 

The following procedures shall apply to the handling of evidence generated pursuant to these provisions:

 

a)         Based on the operating specifications of the intercept equipment, all intercepted conversations will be electronically recorded in a manner consistent with the intercept device.

 

b)         Each shift shall ensure all electronically recorded conversations are properly stored and protected in accordance with the intercept device's design and function.

 

(Source:  Amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 13430, effective October 5, 2021)

 

Section 1295.80  Specifications for Materials and Equipment

 

a)         The materials and equipment used for electronic criminal surveillance shall be of a type and quality sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Act and ensure adequate collection and preservation of evidence.  The standards outlined in subsection (b) shall be met or exceeded.

 

b)         Intercept device equipment shall:

 

1)         Include audio monitoring capabilities.

 

2)         Include controls to facilitate minimization.

 

3)         Provide electronic documentation of all minimization incidents.

 

4)         Display call data.

 

5)         Protect the recording from editing or other alterations.

 

(Source:  Amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 13430, effective October 5, 2021)