The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill this week that will help save lives by shortening the time it takes to locate someone in grave danger.
House File 447, which passed the House 93-2 on March 11, requires cellphone services to provide the location of cellphones to law enforcement or 911 operators if the information is needed in an emergency that involves risk of death or serious physical harm. Currently, law enforcement must wait for a warrant to get the location of a cell phone.
Cell phone companies can track down a phone using electronic pulses, called “pings”, emitted from the cell phone. In an emergency, the ability to locate the phone and its owner as quickly as possible can be a matter of life and death.
If the bill becomes law, Iowa will join a growing number of states approving legislation named for Kelsey Smith, a young woman from Missouri who was kidnapped and murdered.