16
MALONE v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUGDMENT
(c) there must be good reason to think that an interception would be
likely to lead to an arrest and a conviction.
43. As is indicated in the Birkett report (paras. 58-61), the concept of
"serious crime" has varied from time to time. Changing circumstances have
made some acts serious offences which were not previously so regarded;
equally, some offences formerly regarded as serious enough to justify
warrants for the interception of communications have ceased to be so
regarded. Thus, the interception of letters believed to contain obscene or
indecent matter ceased in the mid-1950s (Birkett report, para. 60); no
warrants for the purpose of preventing the transmission of illegal lottery
material have been issued since November 1953 (ibid., para. 59). "Serious
crime" is defined in the White Paper, and subject to the addition of the
concluding words has been consistently defined since September 1951
(Birkett report, para. 64), as consisting of "offences for which a man with no
previous record could reasonably be expected to be sentenced to three
years’ imprisonment, or offences of lesser gravity in which either a large
number of people is involved or there is good reason to apprehend the use of
violence" (White Paper, para. 4). In April 1982, the Home Secretary
announced to Parliament that, on a recommendation made by Lord Diplock
in his second report (see paragraph 55 below), the concept of a serious
offence was to be extended to cover offences which would not necessarily
attract a penalty of three years’ imprisonment on first conviction, but in
which the financial rewards of success were very large (Hansard, House of
Commons, 21 April 1982, col. 95).
Handling (including receiving) stolen goods, knowing or believing them
to be stolen, is an offence under section 22 of the Theft Act 1968, carrying a
maximum penalty of fourteen years’ imprisonment. According to the
Government, the receiving of stolen property is regarded as a very serious
offence since the receiver lies at the root of much organised crime and
encourages large-scale thefts (see the Birkett report, para. 103). The
detection of receivers of stolen property was at the time of the Birkett report
(ibid.), and remains, one of the important uses to which interception of
communications is put by the police.
44. Applications for warrants must be made in writing and must contain
a statement of the purpose for which interception is requested and of the
facts and circumstances which support the request. Every application is
submitted to the Permanent Under-Secretary of State - the senior civil
servant - at the Home Office (or, in his absence, a nominated deputy), who,
if he is satisfied that the application meets the required criteria, submits it to
the Secretary of State for approval and signature of a warrant. In a case of
exceptional urgency, if the Secretary of State is not immediately available to
sign a warrant, he may be asked to give authority orally, by telephone; a
warrant is signed and issued as soon as possible thereafter (White Paper,
para. 9).