Councils criticised as 'spying' requests soar to over half a million

The number of official 'spying' requests for private communications data such as telephone records jumped to more than 500,000 last year, it was revealed today.

Use of the techniques by local councils - which only made up a small fraction of the overall total - was criticised by the Chief Surveillance Commissioner, Sir Christopher Rose.

A number of local authorities have been slated for using the spying powers to target relatively minor offences such as fly-tipping.

Today's figures showed the police, security services and other public bodies made 519,260 requests to 'communications providers' such as phone and internet firms for billing records and other information.

The total - amounting to more than 1,400 a day - compared with an average of less than 350,000 requests a year in the previous two years.

The figures emerged in a report by the Interception of Communications Commissioner, Sir Paul Kennedy, who also disclosed that 1,707 requests were made by local councils during the year.

While Sir Paul said he believed 'local authorities could make much more use of communications data as a powerful tool to investigate crime', his fellow commissioner Sir Christopher called for a series of improvements.

He said some councils had a 'tendency to expose lack of understanding of the legislation' and displayed a 'serious misunderstanding of the concept of proportionality'.

Some authorising officers were inexperienced and suffered 'poor oversight', he added.

He called on town halls to invest in properly trained intelligence officers who could operate covertly.

The 519,000 requests allow public bodies to see details such as itemised phone bills and website records but are not 'bugging' requests because, for example, they do not allow monitoring of conversations.

In comparison, there were 254,000 requests in the previous nine months and 439,000 in the 15 months before that - an average of 346,000 a year.

The reports by the commissioners also showed:

• There were 929 warrants signed under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) by the Home Secretary in force at the end of 2007, up from 754 at the end of 2006, plus 28 in Scotland, down from 43;
• The number of authorisations for law enforcement agencies to interfere with someone's property increased from 2,311 to 2,493 in 2007/08, plus 525 operations which were renewed from the previous year;
• There were 355 authorisations for 'intrusive surveillance' - when an operative is authorised to break in to someone's property or a bug is planted - about the same number as in the previous year, plus 77 operations which were renewed;
• Law enforcement agencies authorised 18,767 cases of 'directed surveillance' when a member of the public is followed and their activities recorded - a fall of about 1,000 on the previous year. continues here
  
  
  

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