Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner - 2016
or investigation. The inspector ensures that any wrongly acquired data is deleted in line
with paragraph 6.24 of the Code, or that any data obtained in excess of that which was
authorised is managed appropriately (see paragraphs 6.26 to 6.28 of the Code).
Once the investigation has been concluded, I receive a detailed report setting out: a
summary of the incident; a description of the circumstances leading to the error; the cause
of the error; its impact; the measures put in place to prevent the error recurring; and any
recommendations. Attached to this report will be advice from the Head of IOCCO and my
legal adviser on any action I should take with respect to the error.
Summary of Serious Investigations
During 2016, IOCCO undertook 35 serious error investigations. I concluded that 6 of the
35 cases did not meet the serious error criteria.
The remaining 29 cases were classified as serious errors. Descriptions of these are set out in Annex D.
20 of these were human errors, 7 were system / workflow errors and in 2 instances communications
data was obtained without the lawful authority. The impact of these errors was as follows:
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Persons unconnected to an investigation visited by police (9);
Search warrant executed at an address of a person unconnected to the
investigation and / or persons unconnected to the investigation arrested (7);
Incorrect / missing / excess data (5);
Delayed welfare check on vulnerable persons (5);
Communications data acquired without lawful authority (2);
Data obtained on individuals unconnected to an investigation (1).
Overall, the number of serious errors remains very low (0.004%). Human error still accounts
for the majority of serious errors. Many of the most serious errors were caused by mistakes
in the resolution of IP addresses. This is addressed in the next chapter.
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