Among the usual reports on the Hollister Police Department crime blotter released last week was something locals don’t see, or hear of, too often:
Eavesdropping.
There was a case of “eavesdropping” reported on Bayberry Street at 4 p.m. Oct. 19. By definition, eavesdropping beckons the image of someone putting an open hand behind his or her ear to hear a conversation in a store or coffee shop.
Not in 2018, though.
In this technological age, eavesdropping normally equates to secretly recording another person’s conversation, which is against California law, and that’s what Hollister police responded to last week on Bayberry Street.
Capt. Don Pershall noted how in this state, residents have the legal right to know if another person is recording their conversations.
“Both people need to know about it,” Pershall said.
The captain said police can’t provide too many details about the eavesdropping case, but he said investigators responded “for some other reasons under investigation.”
“We can’t give too many details,” Pershall said. “Eavesdropping is a crime in California. If one were to, say, record our conversation right now without permission, both people would have to know,” he said. “It all depends on the circumstances if something like that can get prosecuted. You’ll have to ask the D.A.”
Pershall clarified that law enforcement officers do, however, have the right to record conversations without permission.
“There’s really no expectation of privacy on a lot of these conversations,” he said.
There are other exceptions in the state law that would allow someone to record a conversation without consent, such as victims of domestic violence, kidnapping or bribery.
He said privacy issues like the recording of private conversations have become a hot topic these days, with numerous cases in the courts.
“It’s a weird thing,” Pershall said. “People are screaming for transparency, and that’s what they want. But you can’t do it in my house.”
Hear this: Rare eavesdropping case reported in Hollister
