According to a report from the federal court system and analysis by the Pew Research Center, four states account for half of the nation’s wiretapping activity (California, Florida, Nevada, and New York). Together, these four states account for only a quarter of the nation’s population. According to Pew, when accounting for population, Nevada had the highest wiretap rate, with 38.2 wiretaps per 500,000 people in 2013. Connecticut came in 14th on this list, with 5.1 wiretaps per 500,000 people.
The annual federal report compiles wiretap authorizations by state and federal judges. Pew notes that nearly 90% of the wiretaps appear related to drug offenses.
Click here for the Pew story and here for the full 2013 wiretapping report from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
