Striking the Right Balance between Privacy and Public Protect ion

[Dave Bird]

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In article <3DB01D65.14591.1F286E7@localhost>, David Hansen
<davidh@spidacom.co.uk> writes
>On 18 Oct 2002 at 13:58, Watkin Simon wrote:
>
>> Fly-tipping and polluting are crimes.  The Environment Agency and
>> Environmental Health Departments in local authorities investigate and
>> prosecute those, not the police. 
>
>Edinburgh has litter wardens. They were recently accompanied by 
>police officers, for reasons which escape me but had something to do 
>with the law.
>
>IANAL but I understand that councils don't prosecute anything in this 
>area. That is done by the Fiscal's bunch of rogues. Litter and 
>parking fines are examples. If one doesn't pay the fine it is the 
>rogues that get involved.
>
>Things are perhaps different in the south.

 Now we are straying into areas of ignorance about existing law,
 which may also be different between England and Scotland. 

 As best I know, there are two stages to this.  Anybody can 
 carry out an investigation and pass their file of evidence 
 to the office of the Crown Prosecution Service (in Scotland,
 the Proseccutor Fiscal).  And for most criminal laws anyone can 
 actually appoint a solicitor, approach the court, and carry out 
 a private prosecution themselves (definitely in England, 
 probably the same in Scotland).  

 Generally the governement wants to limit use of both paths.  


 What should be particularly limited is extraordinary powers 
 during investigation -- for example, far too many people can
 demand entry to premises. Certainly no one but law enforcement 
 officers have the authorisation to go armed with clubs or tear gas,
 to detain people for questioning, and so forth.  
>
>
>We have still not had any convincing examples of where there is a 
>desperate and immediate need for instant access on the say so of Tom, 
>Dick or Harriet. Examples where using the 24 hour service that the 
>courts provide would be too slow.

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