Police try to spy on calls or texts every 2 minutes
POLICE forces are asking permission to snoop into Britons’ phone records, text messages and emails every two minutes.
The astonishing extent to which officers are spying on people’s mobile phones and computers using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) is laid bare.
Under the legislation, supposedly brought in to fight terrorism, police can access a range of communications data, including records of who someone called or texted, or any web searches they carried out, as long as they do not access the content.
But a study by the civil liberties group Big Brother Watch has found a significant increase in intrusive surveillance.
Between 2012 and 2014, police forces requested access to communications data stored by mobile phone operators and internet firms 733,237 times – the equivalent of 28 requests an hour, or one every 128 seconds.
Some 96 per cent of requests were approved – almost always by a senior officer in the investigating force. It means that typically, only one in every 25 requests for data is rejected. The report also highlighted huge disparities between how much different forces tap into personal information.
The Metropolitan Police made the most requests for phone and computer records over the three-year period – 177,287 – and had 18 per cent refused.
West Midlands Police came second with 99,444, but had only 1.3 per cent turned down. Overall, requests soared by 12 per cent from 219,487 in 2012 to 246,329 last year. Critics say this undermines Home Office claims that police access to communications data is falling.
In Scotland, some 67 police snooping operations were approved every day – up by more than a quarter in a year.
Police Scotland authorised 24,303 data interceptions in 2014, compared with 19,390 in 2013 and 18,382 in 2012.
Big Brother Watch, wants all Ripa requests to be approved by a judge, rather than a senior officer in the force carrying out the checks. It said the findings were worrying at a time when the police and security services are to be given the right to spy on social media and encrypted websites such as WhatsApp.
The Home Office said measures in the Investigatory Powers Bill, outlined in last week’s Queen’s Speech, will help repair damage caused by US traitor Edward Snowden, who leaked thousands of classified files.
But Renate Samson, chief executive of Big Brother Watch, said: ‘If greater access to communications is to be granted, increased transparency and independent judicial approval should be introduced.’
The report called for forces to increase transparency on how many requests were approved, how many i ndividuals were affected and what type of crimes data was used to investigate.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Margaret Mitchell said: ‘It is up to Police Scotland to ensure that the use of this evidence gathering can be justified.’
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘Police Scotland makes careful use of all communications data, which has been obtained under the strict authorisation process.’
‘Increased transparency’