Conservative PCC Calls on Local MPs to Support Data Communications Legislation

Staffordshire’s Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Ellis, has said this week that controversial proposals to update communications and data laws are essential to tackle the changing face of terrorism as well as the growing menace of serious and organised crime.

He has called on local MPs to support efforts to reignite the debate in Parliament on legislation, which was originally labelled by some as the Snooper’s Charter and abandoned in April following pressure from Nick Clegg.

Mr Ellis says his instincts would normally be to oppose intrusion by the State but his experience since taking office and having seen challenges the Security Services face every day he is convinced that legislation needs updating to account for changing technologies.

Mr Ellis said, “Communications data is used in 95% of all serious organised crime investigations as well as in every major Security Service counter-terrorist operation in the last decade.  But changing technology and new ways that the internet is used to communicate means there is now a serious capability gap for police and intelligence agencies to track the activity of those who are a threat through high-level crime, paedophilia or terrorism.

“I’m concerned that estimates put that capability gap to be equivalent to the ability seven years ago because of the changes in technology and use of social media.  If we expect security services and police to protect us from growing and changing threats, it is essential they have the tools to do that, including the ability to identify patterns of communications across different mediums which could provide early warning or substantiate known risks.

“The balance between privacy and protecting lives and interests must be reassessed by all of us but, and it’s a big but, there must also be the toughest and most intrusive safeguards to ensure proper scrutiny and exacting application of the rules by those who carry out this critical work.  That’s what Parliament needs to urgently look at again sooner rather than later.”

“Service providers are already required under law to maintain records around email and telephone contact data and new legislation would expand that to the raft of new technologies now in everyday use.  The principle is primarily about trawling to identify patterns of behaviour and contacts across millions of communications rather than any details of the content in what’s sent.”