and these constitute errors because Councils are not lawfully entitled to acquire
this type of data. The Inspectors were satisfied that these errors were caused as
a result of a genuine misunderstanding and not through any wilful or reckless
attempt to circumvent the legislation. Most of the staff in the CSPs are aware
that they must not comply with requests from local authorities for traffic data,
but inevitably one or two may slip through the net. In both the above cases the
errors were drawn to the attention of the SROs in the local authorities concerned
and action has been take to prevent any similar errors occurring in the future.
Incidentally, the number of errors reported by local authorities last year was ten
and this equates to about 0.01% of the requests made. I have not encountered any
cases which would be serious enough for me to invoke the powers which I have
outlined previously in paragraph 3.35 of this report.
3.45 In three of the inspections technical breaches of the Act and Code of Practice
were found and this meant that a small amount of data was not obtained fully in
accordance with the law. Nevertheless my Inspectors were satisfied that they had no
bearing on the justifications for acquiring the data and the data had been used for a
correct statutory purpose. My Inspectors looked at the use which local authorities
had made of the communications data, as this is a good check that they are using
their powers responsibly. They concluded that effective use was being made of
the data to prevent and detect crime. Wolverhampton City Council acquired
communications data to investigate the large scale manufacture and distribution
of counterfeit media products via the Internet and computer fairs. The offender
was convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment. The estimated loss to
legitimate businesses was in the region of £1 million and this was stopped when
the four counterfeiting factories were dismantled. The Central England Trading
Standards Regional Scambuster Team based at Solihull Borough Council, and
West Midlands Police jointly investigated a rogue builder when complaints were
received from two members of the public that they had been ripped off. Initially
the Crown Prosecution Service advised against going to trial because there were
only two victims and it would therefore be difficult to prove the full extent of his
criminality. Outgoing call records were obtained in relation to the suspect’s phone
and this enabled the investigation team to identify a number of other victims who
were prepared to give evidence, many of whom had been unaware that they had
actually been the victim to a fraud. The offender obtained approximately £200,000
by fraud from his victims over an 18 month period. The case was eventually tried
in Birmingham Crown Court and the offender pleaded guilty and was sentenced
to 4 years imprisonment. It is extremely unlikely that he would have been brought
to justice if the investigating officers had not made effective use of the powers to
acquire communications data.
3.46 Communications data is a powerful investigative tool but it must always be
used responsibly and all persons within the process must ensure that they act fully
in accordance with the law. The local authorities appreciate that I oversee the use
of their powers and the inspections ensure that they comply with the Act and Code
of Practice.
Other public authorities
3.47 There are approximately 110 other public authorities which are registered for
the purpose of acquiring communications data. These include the Serious Fraud
Office, Independent Police Complaints Commission, Charity Commission, Royal
Mail and the Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), to
name just a few.
3.48 During the course of the reporting year inspections were carried out at
the Environment Agency, Gambling Commission, Defra Investigation Services,
Financial Services Authority, Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland, Royal Mail,
Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Criminal Cases Review Commission, National
Offender Management Service, Serious Fraud Office, Ofcom and the Independent
Police Complaints Commission. Half of these public authorities were inspected
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