Surveillance society

Lewisham Council used the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to carry out covert surveillance of local people 42 times in the past two years, according to an investigation by a national pressure group.

As a New York Times report put it, '[Under RIPA], localities and agencies can film people with hidden cameras, trawl through communication traffic data like phone calls and Web site visits and enlist undercover 'agents' to pose, for example, as teenagers who want to buy alcohol'. These are serious powers which are used to spy on people without giving them any notice.

Civil liberties campaign Big Brother Watch has published a complete break-down of RIPA authorisations by councils in the periods 2008-09 and 2009-10. This includes the data on Lewisham, which shows that the council undertook covert surveillance for the following reasons:

2008/09
2 - Allowing repairs to be carried out on the public highway on a regular basis;
1 - Counterfeiting offences under the Trade Marks Act 1984;
1 - Investigation into the abuse\neglect of a child;
15 - Related to offences investigated by Trading standards including counterfeiting.

2009/10
1 - Investigation into the abuse\neglect of a child;
1 - Unlawful use of a blue badge;
1 - Counterfeiting offences under the Trade Marks Act 1984;
1 - Fraudulent application for Social Care services;
2 - Cases related to offences investigated by Trading Standards including counterfeiting;
17 - Benefit and housing fraud investigations.

The council did not supply any information about whether any prosecutions had resulted from this surveillance.

To put the figures into context, Newcastle upon Tyne Council used the RIPA powers most often, at 231 incidents over two years.

The new coalition government has promised to 'ban the use of powers in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) by councils, unless they are signed off by a magistrate and required for stopping serious crime'.