Juries 'should hear phone taps' to nail crime gangs

[Charles Lindsey]

	On Wed, 11 Sep 2002 17:39:10 +0100
	"Owen Lewis" <oml@sysrx.uk.com> said...

> So is A. I have no figures but I'd be tempted to say that A is almost as
> commonplace as popping E :-) And that is without considering the near
> universal use of video surveillance, overt and covert.
> 
> Watch out for sweaty 'adolescent' raving away to house music with a bottle
> of water in one hand and a baseball cap worn back to front, a la mode. Its
> the cap that is the giveaway. It's likely to contain a 2.4GHz A/V 'pin-hole'
> transmitter (colour with stereo mics), lithium power pack and gently cooking
> the wearer's brain (not so fast as the house music at 1kW o/p though).

Exactly. There may be a good argument for keeping secret the fact
that "they" utilise pin-holes in baseball caps. But the argument that
is being used is that RIPA interception must not be used in evidence
because it might give away such secrets. But RIPA does not apply to the
basball cap.

OTOH, for case B, where RIPA does apply, there is no secret to keep.
We all know how it was done. They walked into the telephone exchange
/ telehouse / sorting office, waved their warrant, and attached their
crock clips / monitored the traffic through the routers / looked into
the POP mailboxes / opened the envelopes, and all with the active
assistance of the technical staff at those locations. It is no secret
that, given that sort of access (and the Official Secrets Act to keep
the facts concealed) you can do *anything*, and in a nice comfortable
environment with cups of coffee brought round too.

So what is there to hide, beyond the fact that a warrant had been issued
and acted upon?

Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own thing------------------------
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