Councils have been criticised for using CCTV/phone tapping powers to tackle dog mess.
The Lib Dems want tighter controls on surveillance powers for authorities including councils and the police, adding that only a magistrate should be able to approve a request for surveillance, under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa).
More than 500,000 requests to access phone and e-mail records were made in 2008, according to the Interception of Communications Commissioner. The Home Office said the powers should be used only when "proportionate".
An average of about 1,500 surveillance requests were made every day in Britain in 2008, according to figures which have emerged from an annual report by commissioner Sir Paul Kennedy.
That is the annual equivalent to one in every 78 adults being targeted.
Although slightly down on 2007, the total number of requests last year was up by more than 40% on 2006, and it included 1,500 approved applications from local councils.
The government forgets that George Orwell's 1984 was a warning, and not a blueprint
Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said the figures "beggared belief".
"Many of these operations carried out by the police and security services are necessary, but the sheer numbers are daunting," he said.
"It cannot be a justified response to the problems we face in this country that the state is spying on half a million people a year. We have sleepwalked into a surveillance state, but without adequate safeguards. Having the Home Secretary in charge of authorisation is like asking the fox to guard the hen house. The government forgets that George Orwell's 1984 was a warning and not a blueprint."
Local authorities in England are still spying on suspected minor offenders despite being banned from doing so by law. Since 2003 they have only been able to use undercover methods against those suspected of breaking criminal law, but the chief surveillance commissioner said it was of "significant concern" that some local authorities were going beyond what was allowed. He was especially worked up about the use of CCTV to monitor people.
In his annual report for 2008, published on 21st July, Sir Christopher Rose raised concerns about "directed surveillance" - such as bugging of a public place or taking photographs of suspects - and the use of covert human intelligence, such as informants and undercover officers.
He mentioned "a continuing failure on the part of authorising officers properly to demonstrate that less intrusive methods have been considered and why they have been discounted in favour of the tactic selected. If, for whatever reason, the government does not wish public authorities to use powers conferred by Parliament, the proper course, it seems to me, is for Parliament to remove those powers."
Authorising officers are senior officials in local authorities, government departments and other public bodies who sign off surveillance requests under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).
Surveillance by local authorities is not yet allowed to be intrusive, such as bugging of phone lines or entering premises.
In England /Wales it is restricted to suspected breaches of criminal law and should not be used to investigate suspected tax dodgers, for example, or on economic or public safety grounds.
Such exemptions do not apply in Scotland.
Sir Christopher warns that public bodies such as local authorities need to stick more closely to the rules.
He says: "A specific act of surveillance may not be intrusive but a combination of acts may enable the construction of a profile; this requires careful consideration when judging whether an individual's private life is subject to interference."
He added that authorising officers sometimes do not understand the need to gain specific authorisation to target people in a public place.
"It is not where the CCTV is placed (which may be overt or covert) but the manner in which the camera is used that is determinative of whether the surveillance is covert," the report says.
And he adds: "CCTV operators employed by local authorities are required to pass rigorous examination for the use of this controversial equipment, yet it appears that some police officers operate CCTV without obvious qualification."
Obviously, merely setting out guidelines is not good enough; there has to be a way of regulating this, and local bodies that overdo it must be accountable in law.
Having operated a CCTV camera myself, as a security guard, I'm aware of the traps. If something looks interesting you will close-in and follow it. That may be nothing more than a beautiful pair of legs. But legs belonging to a woman who has not signed any contract before becoming an unwitting performer. And a crowd of people - any crowd, may be suspect.
On the international level, the operators of remote-control armed drones take this to its extreme, by applying a 'rule of thumb' and just 'taking them out'. That is why it's dangerous to have a wedding celebration in Afghanistan. If you think this jump in context is fanciful, don't forget that Merseyside police began using (unarmed) drones in 2007.
see also: http://hanleyexpress.blogspot.com/2009/06/ripa-council-snooping-is-growth.html
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