Just how far will local councils go?
April 12th, 2008 by adminPoole council have just been caught spying on a 3 year old girl and her family for nearly three weeks. They did this because the little girl’s parents put her name down for a school and the council wanted to see if she lived in the catchments area for that school. So they send someone to spy on her, and her family!
The council defend spying on this family, taking photographs, making notes about their movements etc. by saying they are allowed to under the RIPA laws.
These laws were designed to track terrorists and criminals, not people applying for a place at a primary school! The Home Office web site says this about the RIPA laws.
“The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) legislates for using methods of surveillance and information gathering to help the prevention of crime, including terrorism.â€
No mention of using it to validate a school place application!
These councils have over stepped the mark and should be stopped.
Posted in Bournemouth |