Tories call for more freedom for snoopers
Police nose bunged up with red tape
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The Tory Party is calling for less restriction of police snooping because current laws are "placing a disproportionate burden" on investigations of "volume crime".
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act was introduced in 2000 to provide oversight of public bodies' use of communications data, CCTV footage and other forms of official noseying. There has been some recent criticism of the use of the laws by local councils - although the man in charge of overseeing their use has called for more councils to use their powers.
Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said: "It is not right that we charge our police with combating crime and disorder and then tie their hands behind their backs in the name of Whitehall bureaucracy.
“Revising the RIPA framework so that authorisation - and all the paperwork that goes with it - is not required for basic police work is just one way the Conservatives will cut red tape to free more police onto our streets.”
The Tories want changes to the RIPA framework so that police do not need authorisation to use CCTV, Automatic Number Plate Recognition, plain clothes patrols, operations using sting vehicles or premises, surveillance using x-ray, thermal or radar imaging.
Surveillance of homes of people subjected to repeated burglary should also be allowed, said the Conservatives. ®
COMMENTS
@matt
"... and please name me a country where this type of crap doesn't happen!"
Exactly the sort of attitude displayed by the politicians. The public is screaming for a better society yet the law makers' pitiful ambition is to aim for mediocrity. And they even fail at that.
@ Shakje
Absolutely not, but you shouldn't need to fill in forms to follow someone who's known to be a burglar, at a time and in a location and in circumstances that look like they could be about to do it again.
Thats way different from stopping someone who "just doesn't fit in" for being in a middle class area in a hoodie, or with the wrong skin colour, and hassling them. That is wrong and rightly challenged.
Or if my car was stolen during the night I'd prefer if ANPR cameras could look for it right away not not wait until a form had been filled and sent to someone working office hours.
My exchange analogy still stands, and it has become the case with information held by ISPs, even will full access theres just so much data that no one has the resources to look through it unless its for a specific reason. That's not to say there shouldn't be accountability, of course there should. but would you be happy if you were the victim of a crime and the person responsible got away because the checks and balances prevented the police from acting in time? I'm just not sure the balance is right.
@Aristotle
Criticising spelling, the last recourse of a pedant. My "vision" is just reading whats ACTUALLY being suggested and not reading the headline and crying "OMG its another nail in the coffin of civil liberty, we're doooooomed!"
And incidentally, if you can spot an "experienced" legal professional in the CPS you win a prize.
@Brian Bles*ed
Isn't the suggestion that if YOUR house is burgled repeatedly the police should be able to watch YOUR house so if they come back again they can be caught? You'd object to that?
Police need to be, and as far as i can see _mostly_ are, accountable. But equally clear is that its not a case of plod doing their job AND filling in forms, its either or. Which is why they're not on the street being a deterrent, which for my money, is where they're meant to be. Instead we have people in police looking uniforms doing it for them. If you prefer them filling in forms to catching criminals then we've got the police you want right now so no need to complain. If you want to emigrate fair dos, is there another country where its any better?
Oh get a f'sking grip you raving loons...
... and please name me a country where this type of crap doesn't happen!
Yes, your civil liberties are being trampled on.
Yes, we'll end up having to fight to get them back.
Yes, they'll end up being trampled on again...
... rinse and repeat.
The trick is trying to find the lesser of two evils - want law and order AND complete freedom? - sorry, that doesn't exist.
Tell you what, if you want a truly free country where the law is virtually non-existent and you can do pretty much what the bloody hell you want, try South Africa.
Lovely country, highest crime rate in the world. Truly, this place is the wild west.
Hey, how about the opposite extreme, Australia? Now there's a country that leans heavily toward the right. Your legally required to vote - good weather though.
New Zealand - hmm, great fun living 30 years in the past.
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