A RARE glimpse has been given into the use by council staff of controversial ‘snooping’ powers.
South Derbyshire District Council officers lifted the lid on their secretive world following a request by members.
In a report to a forthcoming overview and scrutiny committee, Andrea McCaskie, the authority’s head of legal and democratic services, said only two ‘snooping’ authorisations were granted under the 2000 Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) from April to September last year.
“In both cases,” she writes, “surveillance was required in order to establish whether benefit claimants had partners residing with them and whether those partners were in employment.
“Officers have reported that in relation to the first authorisation, surveillance has had some success in that the subject had been seen leaving the property and heading off to work, but unfortunately adverse weather conditions had cut short the surveillance.
However, other inquiries are ongoing and further surveillance may be requested at a later date.”
Ms McCaskie adds: “The value of the surveillance operation for the second authorisation has been negative due to a lack of positive sightings of the subject at the target address and, therefore, the authorisation has been cancelled.”
Big Brother-style surveillance techniques are often employed by local authorities to investigate benefit fraud or collect evidence of anti-social behaviour.
It can involve covertly following people, secretly taking photographs of them, or using hidden cameras to record their movements.
Authorising officers must believe the undercover methods are necessary on one or more legal grounds.
They must also ensure there is a satisfactory reason for carrying out the surveillance, that undercover techniques are necessary, that proper consideration is given to associated intrusion, and that the proposed length and extent of the surveillance is proportionate to the information sought.
Ms McCaskie said four RIPA authorisations were granted between April and September last year, usage she described as ‘low’.
One was given to housing services officers to install CCTV to detect anti-social behaviour, and the others were granted to revenue and benefits staff for benefit fraud investigations.
Committee member Amy Plenderleith, who represents the Hilton ward for the Conservatives, said: “I’m confident about the way the council has applied RIPA.
“Each case is reviewed on its merits and the officers are very thorough.”
However, following a welter of complaints nationwide about excessive intrusion and abuse of RIPA powers by town hall staff, the coalition Government has pledged to ban investigations ‘unless they are signed off by a magistrate and required for stopping serious crime’.
The council will need to amend its policy and guidance once these changes are introduced.
