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Surveillance Commissioners have responsibilities under Part III of the 1997 Act and Parts II and III of the RIPA.
Section 91 of the 1997 Act provides for the Prime Minister to appoint a number of Commissioners to perform certain statutory functions under Part III of the 1997 Act. These were extended in 2000 to cover oversight of Parts II and III of RIPA and RIP(S)A. These functions relate to surveillance operations carried out by police and Customs officers and members of the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Commissioners are responsible for:
- scrutinising all notifications, renewals and cancellations of authorisations
- giving prior approval for authorisations and renewals in certain specified cases
- assisting the Chief Surveillance Commissioner (CSC) in oversight of notification of access to encryption keys under section 51 of RIPA
- assisting the CSC in his duty to keep under review the use of directed surveillance and covert human intelligence sources by the law enforcement agencies.
Property interference
- Notifications
A Commissioner is required to scrutinise, as soon as is reasonably practicable, notifications, renewals and cancellations of all authorisations given in writing by authorising officers. A Commissioner needs to be satisfied that, at the time an authorisation was given, there were reasonable grounds for believing that the action met the criteria set out in section 93(2) of the 1997 Act.
In cases where a Commissioner is not so satisfied, he may quash or cancel an authorisation or renewal. He may also order the destruction of records (other than those required in pending criminal or civil proceedings). A Commissioner notifies the authorising officer and the CSC in writing of the decision. Authorising officers may appeal to the CSC against such decisions.
In appropriate cases, a Commissioner may order that the authorisation remain effective for a specified period to allow the retrieval of anything left on the property in pursuance of an authorisation.
- Prior approvals
Authorisations or renewals in particularly sensitive cases, as set out in section 97 of the 1997 Act, will not, except in cases of urgency, take effect unless approved by a Commissioner.
In these cases, a Commissioner must, as soon as reasonably practicable, decide whether to approve or refuse the authorisation and give written notice of this decision to the authorising officer. Only when the Commissioner's approval has been notified to the authorising officer will it take effect. Where approval is refused, a Commissioner must make a report of his findings to the authorising officer.
In cases of urgency, authorisation can take effect immediately but a Commissioner must be notified as soon as is reasonably practicable thereafter. In addition to determining the reasonableness of the decision to authorise interference with property, a Commissioner is also required to determine the reasonableness of the decision to treat a case as one of urgency and so to proceed without prior approval.
Where a Commissioner is not so satisfied, he may quash or cancel the authorisation or renewal. In urgent cases where an authorisation has taken effect without prior approval, he is also able to quash or cancel an authorisation or renewal if not satisfied as to the reasonableness of this course of action.
Intrusive surveillance
Similar arrangements apply to intrusive surveillance as to property interference authorisations.
Visits
Following inspections by Inspectors of the covert surveillance conducted by law enforcement agencies, Commissioners make visits to discuss the Inspectors' findings and recommendations with Chief Officers.
Electronic data protected by encryption
Under Part III of RIPA, Commissioners are required to assist the CSC in his oversight of:
- notifications of police and customs authorisations, given under section 51 of RIPA, requiring disclosure of a key
- the exercise and performance of their power to serve section 49 disclosure notices (so far as these are not the responsibility of the Interception and Intelligence Services Commissioners), and the adequacy of the safeguard arrangements for protecting keys set out in section 55 of RIPA.
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