2011 Annual Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner
6.2. Inspection Regime
There has been, over the recent past, significant interest in the commissioners’ inspection visits
in relation to lawful interception under Part I, Chapter I of RIPA. In order to add useful context
therefore, this year I present in this section, to the extent allowed without revealing sensitive
details, further information on how such inspection visits are conducted.
As outlined in my 2010 Annual Report my primary role in relation to the oversight of lawful
interception is that of an auditor retrospectively examining interception warrants twice a year.
I visit each agency entitled to obtain authority to intercept. Before each visit I obtain a full list
of extant warrants, and lists of warrants which have been modified or cancelled since my last
visit. From these lists I make my selection of warrants to be examined in depth at the time of
my inspection. Sometimes the agencies draw attention to warrants which they consider that I
should review, but it is important that to a substantial extent the selection should be random. I
am satisfied that the lists supplied to me are complete. If they were not the omission would be
likely to emerge because I also inspect the warrantry documents held by those Departments of
State from which warrants can be obtained.
When the inspection takes place I am able to read the paperwork presented to the Secretary
of State, and am often assisted by agency staff in relation to the background and the benefit
derived from the warrant. I need to be satisfied that at the time when the warrant was obtained
the Secretary of State or Scottish Minister was entitled to conclude that it was necessary and
proportionate to grant it for one of the statutory purposes, despite the invasion of privacy that
was likely to be involved, and that the justification for the warrant persists if it remains extant. I
also check the paperwork to ensure that it is complete, that warrants have been renewed in time,
and have been cancelled when no longer justifiable. As last year I have set out in Table 2 the stages
and purposes of a typical inspection visit.
Table 2 – An Inspection Visit
Stage
Selection Stage
Description
Warrant-Issuing Department
(WID), Intelligence Agency or
Law Enforcement Agency (LEA)
provide list of extant, expired and
modifications to authorisations since
last inspection.
Purpose
Checks are made by WID to ensure all
authorisations are submitted.
Agencies also commonly refer
commissioner to specific cases of
interest concerning either errors or
legal issues.
Commissioner dip-samples a number
of warrants and authorisations for
further scrutiny on inspection day.
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To ensure the random nature of
Inspections and ensure all warrants have
an equal chance of being selected for
review.