IPCO Annual Report 2018
5. Inspection methodology
Overview
5.1
The establishment of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (IPCO) provided an
opportunity to review our approach to inspections across the range of powers we oversee.
We were able to test some new approaches during 2018, with a view to making better
use of the expertise of our Inspectors and helping them develop their experience into
new areas. Our current conclusion from this experience is that one size of inspection does
not fit all, even within categories of institution. We need to be flexible in our approach to
inspection planning to ensure that the demands our visits make on public authorities are
proportionate but allow us the access we need. We are keen to build on this learning and
will continue to work with the authorities we oversee to develop our methodology as the
impact of the new legislation becomes clearer.
5.2
This chapter sets out our current inspection methodology and the reasons behind that
approach. This helps to explain some of the differences in how our findings are presented,
as it will always be the case, for example, that we focus on the work of the intelligence
services more than other organisations. The chapters that then follow, which give further
detail of our inspection findings from 2018, reflect the balance of time we commit across
the range of authorities we oversee.
Selection of material for inspection
5.3
With the exception of some smaller establishments which rarely use their powers,
Inspectors do not attempt to view all the authorisations in any particular area. IPCO does
not aim to review a fixed statistically representative sample because each inspection should
be a process of gaining insight into the methodologies used by, and the activities of, the
individual authorities. On some occasions, the authorisation casework might be marginal
to an inspection that focuses on, for example, protective monitoring methodologies or the
adequacy of staff training.
5.4
It is important to note that it is the Chief Inspector or Inspector who selects the material
to be viewed on any inspection, rather than the authority we are inspecting. The selection
may reflect issues raised by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPC) or the Judicial
Commissioners (JCs) in the course of considering applications, may pick up trends or issues
in error reporting or will follow up on recommendations from previous inspections to
ensure they have been addressed.
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