The Rochester City Council Tuesday night authorized Rochester police to purchase a one-year license from Gray Key Technology for technology that can open a locked iPhone.
Investigators looking into serious crimes including homicides and assaults are able to apply to a judge for a search warrant for information they hope to find on the locked phone, then with the judge’s permission use the Gray Key technology to open and search for that information on a suspect’s phone.
Some civil liberties questions were raised at Tuesday night’s virtual council meeting, but Police Chief La’Ron Singletary and Mayor Lovely Warren said it is legally no different from getting a warrant to search a home or car.
The city will pay $19,000 for the annual license. Up until now, the city has been using the technology via the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, which has had it for nearly two years.