Town hall spies using DVLA files to catch people dropping litter and making too much noise.

By James Slack 2nd August 2008
Town hall snoopers obtained the details of more than 270,000 motorists from the DVLA database last year in a bid to trap people for 'environmental crimes'.
The officials wanted to link car owners via their number plates to offences such as littering, dog fouling and noisy stereos.

Critics say the scale of the inquiries is a 'terrifying' example of the lurch towards a Big Brother society.

Councils were originally given 24-hour access to the DVLA's huge
database, via a computer link called the Web Enabled Enquiry System
(WEES), to make it easier to trace the owners of abandoned cars.

But a document produced by the Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs reveals this access has recently been 'enhanced' to allow
authorised council staff to police environmental crimes.

The DVLA said WEES was accessed last year by a total of 271,563 by local
councils - at the rate of more than 700 checks every day.

North Cornwall District Council used the system in an attempt to trace
somebody suspected of horse fouling. Test Valley Council in Hampshire
used it in a graffiti inquiry, while Chorley Council in Cheshire used it
to check on the owner of a car leaking petrol in a car park.

Bexley Council in London checked the system 44 times last year to trace
people illegally advertising cars for sale in the street. Other councils
have used the system in an attempt to trace the owners of out of control
dogs, bogus callers and benefit cheats.

In some cases, officials use the system to obtain the details of people
who have been spotted by council staff committing an offence.

But it can also be used to check tips from members of the public, who
take down a car registration after spotting litter being thrown from the
window, or an owner letting a dog out of the car and not clearing up any
mess.

Shadow Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said: 'State intrusion is
becoming the norm not the exception as we witness the slow death of our
privacy.

'We never condone breaking the law and recognise the need for tough
measures to tackle the wave of violent crime sweeping the country. What
we don’t need is the systematic abuse of state powers by town halls -
there must be a proportionate use of powers that fit the offence'. [must
include]

Phil Booth, of the NO2ID campaign, said of the DVLA database: ' This is
incredible and terrifying. What we are seeing are powers which are
brought in for one purpose being abused time and again for relatively
minor offences.

'This is massively disproportionate. I don't think it is reasonable or
proportionate to expose the names of every driver in the country to
potentially hundreds or thousands of people.'

Many of the checks are still made in an attempt to trace the owners of
abandoned vehicles.

But the legislation is now being widely used in attempts to track down
those responsible for offences in the Clean Neighbourhoods and
Environment Act - including fly-tipping, dog fouling, littering, illegal
street repairs, noisy car alarms and loud car stereos.

The Defra document says: 'Originally conceived to help authorities
better deal with abandoned vehicles it has now been enhanced to allow
enquires to assist the

investigation of other environmental offences, where a vehicle is
involved.'

'The system can be used to get vehicle keeper details where a vehicle is
abandoned or causing a nuisance or used in connection with fly-tipping,
littering, dog-fouling or fly-posting.

'Where a vehicle is causing a nuisance this includes those that are
being repaired or sold on the road. The definition of fly-tipping also
includes litter that is thrown from a car.

'In the case of dog-fouling, if the owner of a dog fails to clean up
after it has fouled, and then returns to the car, the vehicle keeper
details can be requested through WEES so as to help with any
investigation.'

Those who have been trapped by the snooping tactic include dog owner
Barry Barnes, of Wick, in West Sussex, who was fined £200 at court last
month for failing to clear up after his pets.

He was spotted by a dog warden but refused to give his details and was
tracked down by Arun Council staff using by running a check on his car
registration.

It is the latest example of the lengths councils are willing to go to in
order to trap even the most minor offenders.

In June, the Daily Mail revealed how local authority snoopers used had
anti-terror powers to delve into the phone and e-mail records of
thousands of people.

They deployed the tactic to check for evidence of dog smuggling, storing
petrol without permission and even to trace a suspected bogus faith
healer.

There has also been past controversy over the use of the information
held by the DVLA database, which all vehicle owners are legally obliged
to supply with name, address and driving licence details.

The government was forced to tighten the data access rules after the
DVLA revealed it made £6.3m from selling access to the names and
addresses of motorists to private sector companies such as wheel
clampers, bailiffs and debt collection agencies.

Defra stresses that a car number plate alone will not be enough to hand
out a fine, or secure a conviction. Other evidence, or an admission of
guilt, is also likely to be necessary.

Sir Simon Milton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: '
Councils use the powers to respond to residents’ complaints about fly
tippers, rogue traders and those defrauding the council tax or housing
benefit system.

'Time and again, these are just the type of crimes that residents tell
us that they want to see tackled. Without these powers, councils would
not be able to provide the level of reassurance and protection local
people demand and deserve.

'Surveillance powers are never to be used lightly and it is important
that councils use them when appropriate. It is not right that councils
are being tarred with accusations of snooping to investigate local crime
when they are doing nothing of the sort.

'Equally it is important that they use these powers carefully and
appropriately and we will be working with councils to help enable this.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1040747/Town-hall-spies-using-
DVLA-files-catch-people-dropping-litter-making-noise.html