Co-Sponsorship Memo Details

Since originally enacted in 1978, the Pennsylvania Wiretap Act has struck a careful balance between protecting the privacy of our citizens while allowing investigators and prosecutors to gather critical evidence to fight crime. Recognizing that evidence of the most serious criminal offenses often only occurs in secret, the Act serves as a necessary tool for law enforcement to obtain evidence in cases involving public corruption, corrupt organizations, high-level drug trafficking, and child pornography, among others. At the same time, the Act’s comprehensive statutory scheme establishes rigorous standards that law enforcement must meet prior to intercepting private communications in the Commonwealth.
 
This important law is set to expire on December 31, 2023. In the near future, I plan to introduce a bill to extend this expiration date, allowing law enforcement to continue gathering necessary evidence to hold wrongdoers accountable while simultaneously protecting the Constitutional rights of our citizenry.