In the helicon days that followed the results of the May general election, many news items slipped under the media radar, condemned to irrelevance by the scenario of Clegg and his “will he or won’t he” dithering.  

Once such gem was a report by Big Brother Watch cataloguing the ways in which local authorities have used the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).  Introduced by the Labour government in 2000, the act allowed public authorities to carry out surveillance, collect data, intercept communications and operate “covert human intelligence” operations.

At the time it was assumed that these serious and far reaching powers would be used to fight international terrorism and to combat serious crime and fraud.  In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.  Included within the RIPA remit are local authorities including our own South Tyneside Council? As public bodies, their powers are self authorising – no external authority such as a police body, a court or a judge, are required to give permission for the act to be used. 

All that is required is the approval of one council official to permit another council official to spy on a member of the public for an unlimited period. 

Luckily, most public authorities act responsibility …

Consider the following facts: 

• 372 local authorities used surveillance RIPA operations on 8575 occasions in the past two years.
• Such operations involved spying on council employees over issues such as sickness, car parking, work times and sick pay.
• Over a dozen authorities spied on residents whose pets were suspected of dog fouling.
• Five authorities used the act in connection with the smoking ban.
• One council used to the act to catch people fly tipping donations outside of a charity shop.

Clearly the act has been used by local authorities outside of the spirit under which it was created.  How then, has South Tyneside approached the act and its permitted use?

The Big Brother report revealed that South Tyneside Council used the RIPA on 13 occasions over the last two years.  Reasons included benefit fraud, sales of alcohol and tobacco, and the strange case of the removal of WEEE materials.  The council was not able to supply any information as to whether any prosecutions had resulted from these covert surveillance operations. 

Whilst many of these issues highlighted do involve the breaking of laws, other mechanisms exist to hold the perpetrators to account. For example benefit agencies have their own internal fraud investigators and off licences are monitored by trading standards officers. 

What is clear however is that the RIPA can be used by council’s for the most trivial of matters without reference or accountability to a higher body.

Such freedom can only lead to abuse.  What would happen if you were a political opponent of say the ruling group who control your local council?  Will your movements be monitored?  Will your telephone calls be intercepted?  Will your emails be read? The answer to all these questions is that legally they could be, without the involvement of the police, a judge or a court.  

So remember, the next time you go to the shops, phone your grandparents or pop out for a pint at your local, it’s not just Big Brother who could be watching you, but your local council may also be taking an interest!

Many thanks to Big Bother Watch who compiled the RIPA report.  Follow this link for a more expansive list of what local councils get up to in your name. 

http://www.bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/home/2010/05/the-grim-ripa-local-councils-authorising-11-covert-surveillance-operations-a-day.html

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