2011 Annual Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner
At Edinburgh High Court the defendant was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and was
issued with a lifelong restriction order.
7.5.2. Intelligence Agencies
The intelligence agencies are subject to the same type of inspection methodology and scrutiny
as police forces and law enforcement agencies. Communications data is used extensively by
the intelligence agencies, primarily to build up the intelligence picture about persons or groups
of persons who pose a real threat to our national security. For the most part the work of
the intelligence agencies is highly sensitive and secret, and this limits what I can say about my
inspections of these bodies.
During the reporting year all three of the intelligence agencies were inspected (Sys, SIS, GCHQ).
My inspectors were satisfied that the agencies are acquiring communications data lawfully
and overall they are achieving a good level of compliance with the Act and Code of Practice.
The applications are being completed to a good standard and the requests are necessary and
proportionate. The DPs are discharging their statutory duties responsibly and the SPoCs are
ensuring the data is acquired in a timely manner. The inspections at GCHQ and SIS did identify a
number of areas where their systems could be updated to streamline the processes and reduce
unnecessary bureaucracy. I am pleased to report that these findings were welcomed and I have
been informed that the recommendations made in this respect have already been implemented.
7.5.3. Local Authorities
There are over 400 local authorities throughout the UK approved by Parliament to acquire
communications data under the provisions of the Act. They are restricted in relation to the
type of communications data they can obtain. They are permitted to acquire subscriber data or
service use data under Sections 21(4) (c) and (b) respectively, but they cannot acquire traffic
data under Section 21(4) (a). I believe the extent to which local authorities use communications
data should be placed in context and it is important to point out that local authorities may only
use their powers where they have a clear statutory duty and responsibility to conduct a criminal
investigation.
“Local authorities may only use their powers where they have a clear statutory
duty and responsibility to conduct a criminal investigation.”
Generally the trading standards departments are the principal users of communications data
within local authorities, although the environmental health departments and housing benefit
fraud investigators also occasionally make use of the powers. Local authorities enforce numerous
statutes and use communications data to identify criminals who persistently rip off consumers,
cheat the taxpayer, deal in counterfeit goods, and prey on the elderly and vulnerable. The
environmental health departments principally use communications data to identify fly-tippers.
By comparison with police forces and law enforcement agencies, local authorities make very
limited use of their powers to acquire communications data. During the period covered by
this report 141 local authorities notified me they had made use of their powers to acquire
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