Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner - July 2016
continue to conduct inquiries into specific issues to bring more meaning to how the
powers are being used and to scrutinise the level of compliance being achieved by the
public authorities.
7.72 This year we decided to conduct a comparative study of investigations where
communications data has or has not been acquired to ascertain the reasons why there
might be differences and whether those differences might be indicative of an automatic
resort to communications data where it may not be appropriate. We chose to examine
the communications data strategies and operational actions for robbery investigations.
7.73 During each police force inspection we sought to examine all reported robberies
for a specific month and any associated applications for communications data. The
number of robberies reported for a specific month varied considerably between the
different police forces, from hundreds in some urban force areas to a handful in some of
the more rural forces, to the extent that it was necessary to widen the period examined
in certain forces to evaluate a reasonable sample.
7.74 We found that the proportion of applications submitted in relation to reported
robberies varied significantly between police forces. Typically the police force would
seek to acquire data where a communications device (e.g. mobile phone) had been
stolen or where a suspect had been identified and there was a need to establish that
person’s movements (e.g. to test an alibi). In the majority of robbery offences no mobile
phone had been stolen. Sometimes if a mobile phone had been stolen it was blocked
on the National Mobile Property Register (NMPR).55 In such cases no communications
data was acquired because there was sufficient evidence available from other sources
to charge a suspect, or alternatively there was good reason to question the credibility of
the robbery report. Conversely, in a small number of cases examined by the inspectors
it appeared from the crime report or other information available that the acquisition of
communications data may well have been a possible line of enquiry that had not been
considered or pursued. Overall the inspectors concluded that communications data was
being acquired proportionately in relation to robbery investigations and there was no
automatic recourse by police forces to acquiring communications data.
7.75 Whilst our inquiry into institutional overuse of communications data has now
concluded the inspectors maintain their vigilance to disproportionate acquisition by
public authorities by continuing to examine at each public authority the proportionality
of the totalilty of the communications data acquired in connection with large-scale
investigations, and acquisition relating to other specific crime types (e.g. road traffic
offences, malicious communications etc.).
55 https://thenmpr.com/
www.iocco-uk.info
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