Britannia Radio

It is surely no coincidence that on a day that has most front pages  
focussing on the precarious position of Jacqui Smith that the Home  
Office decides to throw the growling public a bone by blaming  
councils for abusing thheir powers rather than the government by  
taking such powers in the first place.

And, right on cue, the BBC headlines Labour’s spin on this  as well  
as adding some weightier arguments later.  How could NewLabour have  
survived without the BBC ready to do its bidding?   The BBC\s report  
includes acres of quotes from government indicating that they propose  
to tinker round the edges rather than abolish a pernicious system.    
And like most initiatives from this government this announcement will  
be all - no actual meaningful action will take place.

(I may be wrong,  but did I not read somewhere that Britain has more  
CCTV cameras than the rest of Europe combined?)

xxxxxxxxxxxx cs
==================================
JOHN REDWOOD’S DIARY Blog    17.4.09
The grim RIPA and the Surveillance state
    Published by John Redwood

Labour’s polling has at last picked up that many people hate their  
surveillance society. They tell us today they will look at their much  
hated Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to try to stop Councils  
using snooping powers against us for “minor” offences. Why not repeal  
it, and the rest of the surveillance society they have introduced,  
including ID cards and email snooping? Because they are not serious  
about this.

They just don’t get it. We hate this government’s abuse of state  
power. We loathe its bullying and harrassment of our daily lives. We  
dislike its thought police. It wants to poke and pry into every facet  
not just of our lives but of our minds. It forces people to use  
politically correct language, deals aggressively with anyone who  
disagrees with it, intercepts emails and conversations, arrests an  
Opposition Spokesman for doing his job and misrepresents or lies  
about its opponents. It has placed so many cameras on the streets. It  
constantly tries to frigthen us by talking up the terrorist threat.  
It wastes our money on intimidating adverts to tell us what latest  
tax we have to pay or what latest law we have to obey.

Now they think they can spin their way on to the good side of the  
Surveillance society debate by blaming Councils for over eagerness to  
do on a local scale what this government does so often on a national  
scale. It has the advantage for their spin machine of letting them  
tell people they do understand that we are angry about the absue of  
power. It brings the added advantage that as Labour is so unpopular  
many Councils now have a Conservative majority. I have no time for  
any Conservative Council that uses the powers disproportionately.  
This government has so over centralised that if local government is  
now too prying and unpleasant it may be because this government gave  
the powers and often makes them use them. It has put Councils under  
its control with their endless regulations,circulars, star system and  
threats of central intervention if Councils do not comply.

I never recall problems with the rubbish collection service before  
this government and the EU was let loose on it. Now we have the  
battle of the bins with Council after Council under the impression  
they have to go over to fortnightly collection, a policy hated by  
most of the angry Council taxpayers.

This government decided to wage a war against the motorist. This  
government went on the attack against employers and small businesses.  
In their passion to spend more of our money and dictate to us what we  
should think, they forgot that the public might see through the spin.  
That is why they have been trying to find a way of “turning” the  
websites and blogsphere.

Infuriatingly to them the world of the web wont agree with the Labour  
way of looking at and talking about a problem as the BBC so often  
obligingly does.
==================================
BBC ONLINE                    17.4.09
Council 'spying' to be restricted

Councils in England and Wales face new restrictions on the use of  
surveillance powers for minor offences such as dog fouling and  
littering.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) allows public  
authorities to intercept phone and e-mail data and use CCTV to spy on  
suspected criminals.  [“suspected” ???  That’s a case of guilty until  
proved innocent then?  -cs]

But Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has launched a review after fears it  
was being used for "trivial" offences.

The Tories and Lib Dems say RIPA has become a "snooper's charter".

But the government has resisted opposition calls for the use of the  
powers to be authorised by magistrates, arguing that the decision to  
use them should be left with councils and police.

RIPA was introduced in 2000 to allow police and security services to  
fight crime and terrorism more effectively and was later extended to  
allow local authorities to use some covert techniques.

In one case, benefit investigators covertly filmed Paul Appleby, a  
disability allowance cheat from Nottinghamshire, who had claimed  
£22,000 in payments.  [THIS is a red herring!  It is CCTV that is the  
issue not specific evidence gathering -cs]

He was in fact a member of an athletics club - and secret filming of  
him competing in events was crucial to the case against him.
But one example cited by the Home Office as wrong is an investigation  
into parents using a false address to get their child into a  
preferred school.

Ministers said that an official should have simply knocked on the  
door of the home in question rather than mounting round-the-clock  
surveillance.

Similarly, councils should stake out spots where dog fouling occurs  
and not follow suspect owners wherever they go.

The Home Office has now launched a consultation on exactly which  
public authorities will be able to use the powers in the future.
Ms Smith said the government had to protect people's freedom "from  
interference by those who would do us harm". [But not apparently to  
protect those ministers and the police trying to convict people who  
are engaged in protecting US from government abuse and incompetence !  
-cs]

She said: "In order to do this, we must ensure that the police and  
other public authorities have the powers they need.
"But we must also ensure that those powers are not used  
inappropriately or excessively.
"I don't want to see these powers being used to target people for  
putting their bins out on the wrong day or for dog fouling offences.
"I also want to make sure that there is proper oversight of the use  
of these powers which is why I am considering creating a role for  
elected councillors in overseeing the way in which local authorities  
use Ripa techniques."
+++WHAT RIPA REGULATES
++++++++++++++++++++
WHAT RIPA REGULATES
=Interception of communications, such as phone calls and e-mails
=Acquisition of information from service providers
=Covert surveillance
=Use of informants or undercover officers
=Access to electronic data protected by encryption or passwords
++++++++++++++++++++

This could include making councillors the local watchdog for covert  
operations carried out against residents.

The government is also considering raising the rank of local  
authority employee allowed to authorise surveillance to senior  
executives. At the moment relatively minor council officials can give  
the go-ahead to surveillance operations.

Home Office minister Vernon Coaker told BBC Radio 4's Today programme  
that the powers had been used well in the vast majority of cases.

But he added: "We have become concerned about some offences that have  
come to light where these powers have been used to tackle what we  
would regard as trivial issues.
"Some examples would be individual cases of dog fouling, some cases  
of littering. Clearly, the purposes for which the act was introduced  
was not for local authorities to use it in that way."

The Conservatives say they would restrict the use of Ripa powers by  
local authorities only to crimes which could lead to a prison  
sentence and its use should be authorised by council leaders only.
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: "The government has  
allowed Ripa to become a snoopers' charter.

Lib Dem Chris Huhne: 'We need to get a sense of perspective'
"It was supposed to be there to tackle terrorism and serious crime.  
Instead it's being used by both the government and hundreds of local  
authorities to pry into all kinds of different parts of people's  
lives. It has to stop."

The Lib Dems are calling on the government to ensure that Ripa powers  
are only used where strictly necessary and that their use is  
sanctioned by magistrates.

And Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "Without reform,  
Ripa will continue to be a snoopers' charter. Surveillance powers  
should only be used to investigate serious crimes and must require a  
magistrate's warrant."

The Local Government Association said its advice to councils was that  
it was inappropriate to use the powers for less serious matters  
except in the most unusual and extreme circumstances.