Councils used anti-terror laws to launch almost 10,000 spying
missions last year to investigate alleged minor offences by
citizens.
The councils used the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
(Ripa) to enable them to request the e-mail and phone records of
citizens.
It was reported earlier this year that councils were using Ripa
to investigate those involved in alleged dog fouling, under-age
smoking, and fly-tipping offences. The councils have also used Ripa
to check that claimants aren't wrongly claiming benefits.
Chief surveillance commissioner Sir Christopher Rose has now
outlined the extent of council surveillance in his annual
report, which says councils have used Ripa almost 10,000 times
to help with spying missions on their citizens.
Rose said some councils were were guilty of using Ripa in a
"disproportionate" way.
Ripa was originally brought in to help the police and the
security services tackle serious crime and fight terrorism.
However, in recent years, nearly 800 public bodies have been added
to the list of organisations allowed to use the Act to carry out
covert surveillance and intercept communications.
In his annual report, Rose said that 9,535 "directed
surveillance authorisations" were granted to public bodies in the
12 months to 31 March. This equates to almost 30 a day.
Rose accused councils of "a serious misunderstanding of the
concept of proportionality". He threatened to strip them of their
powers.
Rose said, "Many authorities do not recognise that they are
vulnerable to criticism. If authorities wish to retain the
protection that Ripa affords, I encourage a greater attention to
detail."
The government now says it will "review" the powers that public
bodies have under Ripa.
Councils use terrorism law to access more than 900 citizens' phone
and e-mail records >>
New Ripa codes fail to calm industry fears >>