Serious Crime
Section 93 (4) of the 1997 Act: Involves the use of violence, results in substantial financial gain or is conducted by a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose; or the offence is one, for which a person aged 21 years or over with no previous convictions could reasonably expect to receive a sentence of three years imprisonment or more.
Confidential personal information
Section 99(1) of the 1997 Act: Personal information which a person has acquired or created in the course of any trade, business, profession or other occupation, and which he holds in confidence; and communications as a result of which personal information is acquired or created and held in confidence.
Personal information
Section 99(2) of the 1997 Act: Information concerning an individual (living or dead) who can be identified from it and relating to his physical or mental health or to spiritual counselling or assistance given or to be given to him.
Covert Surveillance
Section 26(9)(a) of RIPA: If, and only if, carried out in a manner calculated to ensure that persons subject to the surveillance are unaware it is taking place.
Surveillance
Section 48(2) of RIPA: - monitoring, observing, listening to persons, their movements, conversations, other activities or communications
- recording anything monitored, observed or listened to in the course of surveillance
- surveillance, by or with, assistance of a surveillance device.
Surveillance can be
Directed surveillance
Section 26(2) of RIPA: Covert, but not intrusive, and undertaken - for a specific investigation or operation
- in a manner likely to obtain private information about an individual (whether or not that person is specifically targeted for purposes of an investigation); and
- not as an immediate response to events which would otherwise make seeking authorisation under the Act unreasonable eg spotting something suspicious and continuing to observe it.
Intrusive
Section 26(3) of RIPA: Only if covert and - carried out in relation to anything taking place on residential premises or in a private vehicle; and
- involves the presence of an individual on the premises or vehicle or is carried out by a surveillance device.
Private information
Section 26(10) of RIPA: In relation to a person, includes
any information relating to his private or family life.
[It is helpful to have regard to the judgment in the case
of Amann v Switzerland Feb 2000.
In relation to Article 8 it said “….respect for private
life comprises the right to establish and develop relationships
with other human beings; there appears, furthermore, to be no reason
in principle why this understanding of the notion of “private
life” should be taken to exclude activities of a professional
or business nature.]
Covert Human Intelligence Source (CHIS)
Section 26(8)(a)-(c) of RIPA: A person who establishes or
maintains a personal or other relationship with a person for the
covert purpose of facilitating the doing of anything that
- covertly uses such a relationship to obtain information or to
provide access to information to another person; or
- covertly discloses information obtained by the use of such a
relationship, or as a consequence of the existence of such a relationship.
Conduct and use of a CHIS
Section 26(7)(a)(b) of RIPA:
- Conduct
Establishing or maintaining a personal or other relationship with
a person for the covert purpose of (or is incidental to) obtaining
and passing on information ie the task in hand.
- Use
Actions inducing, asking or assisting a person to act as a CHIS
ie setting up the CHIS.
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