Critics hit back at the town hall spies

Apr 28 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

NORTH East council bosses are today accused of using powers designed to fight terrorism to spy on their own taxpayers.

Councils in the region are the biggest users countrywide of investigatory powers to check on small businesses, unsociable neighbours and even dog owners.

Officers have been accused of abusing their powers after it emerged eight North East council bosses have authorised use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) 419 times in the last 12 months – spying on families and businesses every day for a year. The Act was introduced to fight serious crime and help prevent terrorist attacks, but has allowed council officers to spy on people for a range of misdemeanours.

The powers allow councils to use “physical surveillance”, giving them legal permission to follow and monitor dog walkers and shopkeepers.

Gateshead Council, which used Ripa seven times in 12 months, was accused of “going over the top” after it emerged it had used the Act to spy on a dog walker.

But the council insisted it mainly used the powers to attempt to catch retailers selling alcohol and fireworks to teenagers.

And there was further controversy for the region with the revelation that Durham County Council is the UK’s top snooper after staff used the Act 144 times in a year to spy on businesses.

Their spying record included surveillance against traders suspected of the possession, distribution and sale of counterfeit goods.

A spokesman said: “The authorised surveillance operations were approved in respect of retailers, generally in relation to sales of age restricted products.

“All of the above took place for reasons of the prevention or detection of crime.”

Thirteen requests for phone records were made under the Act in respect of traders by the council.

Last night Gateshead Liberal Democrat councillor Jonathan Wallace said his council’s dog-fouling spying was just one example of how Government powers are misused.

“Using powers designed to fight terrorism to crack down on dog fouling is frankly an excessive use of powers,” he said. “We have dog wardens who are more than capable of doing their job without these powers.

“This use of the Act is over the top and just one of a growing list of absurd examples nationwide, including a couple investigated by their council to see if they lived in a school’s catchment area.

“There are too many examples of powers designed by Government in response to fears about terrorism being used for matters which they were never intended to cover.”

Officers at Newcastle Council used the Act 124 times, mainly to build a case against anti-social and noisy neighbours.

Council leader John Shipley said the authority had recently carried out a review of its investigations and was satisfied all were done in the public interest.

But Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty, said: “You don’t use a sledgehammer to crack a nut, nor targeted surveillance to stop a litter bug.

“You can care about serious crime and terrorism without throwing away our personal privacy with a snoopers’ charter.”

Sir Simon Milton, Local Government Association chairman, called for a national debate about how councils and government can get the balance right between people’s worries about crime and anti-social behaviour and their privacy.

“Councils are committed to putting local people first and will use every weapon in their arsenal to catch the rogue traders, doorstep criminals and scam artists who cheat the taxpayer and prey on the vulnerable and the elderly,” he said.