Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Governance and Licensing presented the report.

Cabinet had approved the Council’s Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act Policy at its meeting on 6 February 2024 where it delegated the undertaking of an annual review of the Policy to the Governance and Audit Committee. This report facilitated the annual review of the Council’s Policy.

-       Clarification was sought around the difference between covert and overt surveillance. It was queried whether the police must request that the CCTV operatives actively monitor an individual and that they must have a RIPA in place to be able to do so.

The Assistant Director (Governance and Public Protection) and Monitoring Officer confirmed that the police operated seperately to the Council’s CCTV operators. CCTV and the Police worked in partnership with one another and CCTV for the District was now based at the Police Station in Grantham.

It was noted that RIPA’s could only be granted by a court and involved a complex application process. The Council or the Police could apply for a RIPA if it was required. It was confirmed the following areas of activity would require a RIPA:

·       Directed Surveillance: covert surveillance undertaken in relation to a specific planned investigation or operation which is likely to lead to private information about a person being obtained. Surveillance is covert where it is conducted in a manner calculated to make sure that the subject is not aware that it is happening.

·       Intrusive Surveillance: covert surveillance which takes place in residential premises or a private vehicle either by the presence of a person within the premises or vehicle or the installation of a device. It cannot be conducted by a Local Authority.

·       Use of a Covert Human Intelligence Source (CHIS): a CHIS is a person who maintains a personal or other relationship with a person for the covert purpose of obtaining or gaining access to information. It does not mean circumstances where members of the public volunteer information or to contact numbers set up to receive information but it will cover cases where officers or other agencies with which the Council works are asked to obtain information from someone by establishing or maintaining a personal or business relationship with that person.

-       It was queried whether the Police contacting CCTV operators requesting them to monitor an individual would require the granting of a RIPA. It was confirmed that a RIPA would not be required if activity had been captures within those areas under the supervision of the Council’s public CCTV as this would not be classed as covert surveillance. This was due to notices being placed in the public domain outlining that CCTV was in operation, together with the location of all cameras being placed on the Council’s website. A RIPA would be required by the Police, or the Council, in circumstances, for example, where cameras were being set up without notice to capture information about an individual as part of a planned investigation or operation.

The Committee was referred to the revised code of practice for the covert surveillance and property interference document.

Directed surveillance was classified if the following were all true:

·       It is covert but not intrusive surveillance.

·       It is conducted for the purposes of a specific investigation or operation.

·       It is likely to result in the obtaining of private information about a person, whether or not one specifically identified for the purposes of the investigation or operation.

·       It is conducted otherwise than by an immediate response to events or circumstances, the nature of which is such that it would not be reasonably practical for an authorisation under Part 2 of the 2000 Act to be sought.

-       One Member queried that if the Police were to request CCTV operators to watch an individual under covert surveillance without a RIPA in place, the onus would be on the CCTV operators for providing the information without a RIPA. In some instances, the Police would apply for the RIPA.

ACTION: For the Assistant Director (Governance and Public Protection) and Monitoring Officer to confirm whether the onus would be on the Council if the Police were to request CCTV operators to monitor an individual under covert surveillance without a RIPA in place.

Training on RIPA took place on an annual basis for Officers who undertook operational roles meaning they were fully aware of the implications associated with the requirements of RIPA.

-       One Member queried if the Police requested CCTV operators to review an individual who had been suspected of criminal activity in the past using previous footage, and whether a RIPA would be required in such circumstances. It was noted that some of this information may had already been recorded historically and could assist in patterns of behaviour in particular individuals, given that the recording had been recorded overtly through the CCTV system, a RIPA would not be required.

The Assistant Director (Governance and Public Protection) and Monitoring Officer also confirmed that a RIPA could not be retrospective. An application for a RIPA would need to specify key information such as the evidence anticipated to be gathered as part of the investigation or operation, timescales and review periods associated with the activity.

-       A query was raised on legalities around new cameras being put up by businesses around Grantham Town without notice.

It was clarified that RIPA does not apply to local businesses and they would not need to follow the same requirements as the Council in this regard.

It was AGREED to:

1. Note the content of the report

2. Agree that no amendments are required to the Council’s Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act Policy