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The Home Office recently consulted on a draft Order that would allow public authorities access to communications data. SEPA was one of the authorities proposed for addition to this access list. The purpose of the enlargement of access is to ensure that public authorities with specialist law enforcement roles have adequate powers to investigate crime at their disposal, subject to appropriate regulation of the use of those powers. In this case, ‘communications data’ embraces the ‘who’, ‘when’ and ‘where’ of a communication (in any form) but not the content.
Both the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and its sister agency in England and Wales the Environment Agency (EA) are observing a growth in organised criminal activity in the field of waste disposal. The EA has successfully prosecuted offenders using Communications Data (CD) evidence obtained from mobile phone companies, using powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The evidence helped identify people who advertise low-cost waste disposal services in newspapers, using only a mobile phone number, and who were suspected of flytipping. This sort of activity is already evident in Scotland and SEPA is keen to ensure Scotland remains intolerant to environmental crime.
SEPA would not have access to traffic data (information about communications) but access to service use and subscriber data. This form of investigatory power is new to SEPA and the Agency is keen to ensure individual privacy is safeguarded while still protecting the public from environmental crime. Therefore any RIPA related powers given to SEPA would only be exercised by approval at Director level and involving a member of the Board.
Colin Bayes, SEPA’s Acting Director of Operations, said: “Some illicit waste dumpers attract business by advertising a mobile phone number. Powers which allow SEPA to identify the owner of that phone and confirm whether or not they are operating within the law would assist us in reducing the offensive and growing problem of flytipping in the Scottish countryside.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
- Communications Data (CD) does not include the content of a communication.
- SEPA is a non-departmental public body charged by the Scottish Executive with environmental regulation. SEPA enforces a number of regulatory regimes including the Control of Pollution Act 1974; the Radioactive Substances Act 1993; the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the PPC (Scotland) Regulations 2000. The legislation is enforced by way of criminal penalties. SEPA investigates potential offences in accordance with its published enforcement policy and takes appropriate and proportionate enforcement action.
Contact
Stewart Prodger 01786 457724
Monica Straughan 01786 457723
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