Geoff Wilkinson
From: Herald Sun
NOT one of the 424 telephone-bugging applications made last year by police and the Office of Police Integrity was refused.
The Office of Police Integrity made 36 applications to bug phones and was given access to phone records in another 2235 cases.
Telecommunications Act records also show that judges authorised Victoria Police to bug the phones of 388 Victorians - more than one a day - in 2009-2010.
Police were also given access, without the need for judicial approval, to the phone records of 50,234 people -- almost 1000 a week.
Civil libertarians described the figures as "absolutely astounding" and called for legislative intervention.
Liberty Victoria president Prof Spencer Zifcak said he was shocked by the extent of phone-record checks and concerned they represented "a significant invasion of privacy".
"I'm appalled. This raises serious doubts about potential breaches of the state's Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities," Prof Zifcak said.
He said he was astounded by the extent of the practice and called for urgent legislative intervention to introduce greater accountability.
Prof Zifcak said it was disturbing that the number of authorisations for police access to phone records had jumped from about 40,000 to over 50,000 in the past year.
"That's an indication of why we need to have some serious scrutiny of the rationale of these," he said.
"At least with the bugs, you've got some independent judicial scrutiny, but such widespread use of phone-record checks is a huge problem," he said.
All police have to do to get telephone-call records from a service provider is to have an inspector or above authorise their release.
Telephone interception warrants can only be issued by an eligible judge or AAT member, and only for the investigation of specified serious offences.
Chief Commissioner Simon Overland said last October that police would only ever use telephone-call charge record checks to investigate "the most serious, criminal leaks".
He gave the assurance after a storm of criticism over an investigation involving the Herald Sun after it was revealed that a reporter's phone records were checked. On that occasion, police were trying to establish the source of a leaked document about the arrival of bikie gangs in Melbourne.
Chief Commissioner Overland said then that the police process would be changed to require approval by the assistant commissioner of the force's ethical standards department for checks involving a leak to either a politician or a journalist.
The OPI's use of bugs in 2009-10 was down from 65 the previous year, but its call-check authorisations leapt from 873 to 2235.
All 36 OPI telephone interception authorisations related to allegations of bribery or corruption.
The 388 phones bugged by police during 2009-10 was 57 more than the previous year.
wilkinsong@heraldsun.com.au
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/police-get-access-to-call-records-of-50234/story-fn7x8me2-1226069041593
