Councils 'snooping' on public
A new report shows local authorities have been using anti-terror surveillance powers to investigate minor offences like dog fouling and families claiming to be in school catchment areas.
Surveillance powers reportedly used by councils
Big Brother Watch obtained details from 345 local authorities across the UK under the Freedom of Information Act. Among the cases highlighted in the report was:
- Suffolk County Council, which was said to have used powers to make test purchases of a puppy, dating agency services and at a house of horrors
- Stockton Borough Council was said to have used powers for investigations into a fraudulent escort agency and the movement of pigs
- Councils used it on 550 occasions to try to catch fly-tippers
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