Council leaders have been ordered to stop using CCTV surveillance equipment to thwart “trivial” matters such as “dog fouling and littering”.
Sir Simon Milton, Conservative Chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA) sent a letter this week to ask authorities to undertake “an urgent review of surveillance operations” which are carried out under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).
Sir Milton’s letter stated that the authority governed by the Act should only be used after “careful consideration” and that all required operations are “necessary and proportionate to prevent or detect a criminal offence”.
The LGA has said that it considers the Act to be a powerful tool for councils to utilise in response to resident complaints about offences such as fly-tipping.
This event is an added thorn amid the publicity about councils taking advantage of RIPA and being “over zealous” with their authority. Milton said it is “wrong that councils are being tarred with accusations of using ‘anti-terror’ powers to investigate local crime when they are doing nothing of the sort”.
The LGA has also stated that it is concerned about the public believing there is a misuse of powers which could be viewed as being overzealous. The negative perception may only serve to alienate the public and poses a risk that councils could be barred from exerting authority.
Milton’s letter also stated: “Parliament clearly intended that councils should use the new powers, and generally they are being used to respond to residents’ complaints about fly-tippers…Without these powers, councils would not be able to provide the level of reassurance and protection local people demand and deserve.”
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