Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner - July 2016
3.11 Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) circulars. We have published a number of
circulars to SROs to help them prepare for IOCCO inspections and to review compliance
regularly within their own public authority. A number of the circulars provide further
guidance to help SROs comply with the revised statistical requirements and to interpret
certain provisions in the Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data Code of
Practice (March 2015), for example those relating to the independence of DPs. We have
recently published new communications data error report form templates to ensure that
errors are reported to IOCCO comprehensively. All of these circulars can be found on our
website.
3.12 Membership of panels / boards. At the invitation of the NPCC we joined the
Professional Oversight Board, a standing committee that reports to the NPCC DCG
Executive Committee, which is responsible for developing, monitoring and promoting
excellence in lifelong learning processes, strategies and tools for professional practice for
communications data.
3.13 Joanna Cavan, Head of IOCCO is also a member of the newly formed Independent
Digital Ethics Panel for Policing, a formal mechanism by which the NPCC and the National
Crime Agency (NCA) can test ethical boundaries for policing an increasingly complex and
digitised Britain. The panel is independent of the NPCC and Government, and it provides
insight and challenge in relation to a range of areas associated with digital policing and
cyber crime.
3.14 Communication Service Provider (CSP) engagement. IOCCO have a strategic
relationship with the CSPs, which assists us greatly in carrying out our oversight functions.
We attend regular meetings with CSPs to keep abreast of technology, data retention and
disclosure mechanisms, to discuss legislation and policy and to investigate errors.
3.15 Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academics, lawyers and other
key experts. The work we undertake is enriched by and benefits from our engagement
with academics, technical experts and privacy advocates. We continue to meet regularly
and engage with colleagues from think tanks and civil society organisations to discuss
relevant issues and concerns. We are grateful to these individuals, in particular to the
NGOs, for continuing to challenge us on areas of our work such as transparency. We will
continue to engage with and seek advice from such individuals.
3.16 International relationships. We have hosted or visited a number of our
international counterparts to discuss our respective oversight regimes, inquiries and
investigations and to share our experiences. Last year we met with our counterparts from
the following bodies:
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the Dutch Review Committee on the Intelligence and Security Services (CTIVD);
the Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence & Security;
Susie Alegre, the Interception of Communications Commissioner for the Isle
of Man;
@iocco_oversight