The shocking way in which the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - an anti-terror law - is being used was revealed through freedom of information requests made by the Daily Mail.
MPs and civil liberties groups last night accused councils of using the draconian powers for trivial reasons.
Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty said: 'Snooping appears to have become the favourite pastime in town halls up and down the land.
'Common sense has gone out of the window and instead of putting out more bins, councils spy on householders as if they were terrorists.'
Tory communities spokesman Eric Pickles said: 'Under Labour, the rights and liberties of law-abiding citizens are being eroded through plans for ID cards, sinister microchip spies in bins and abuse of anti-terror laws by councils.
'Taxpayers' money is being wasted on bankrolling an army of municipal bureaucrats who have watched too many episodes of Spooks.'
The Mail requested information from all of the 474 councils in England. Of the 151 which replied, some 77 - more than half - said they had used the legislation in the last three years for suspected 'domestic waste, littering or fly-tipping offences'.
Although it is ostensibly an anti-terror law, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, or RIPA, is worded so loosely that it can be used to justify surveillance operations for a variety of reasons.
Other local authorities which gave details of how they used RIPA included Lewes District Council in East Sussex.
It admitted that the Act was used to gain evidence on residents who persistently left rubbish out at the wrong time.
South Bedfordshire council also admitted going through phone bills inside rubbish bags to identify who had left them outside.
Officers also electronically tagged certain types of rubbish to find out if they had been dumped illegally.
Sunday 2 November 2008
March of the dustbin Stasi:
Half of councils use anti-terror laws to watch people putting rubbish out on the wrong day,
More than half of town halls admit using anti-terror laws to spy on families suspected of putting their rubbish out on the wrong day.
Their tactics include putting secret cameras in tin cans, on lamp posts and even in the homes of 'friendly' residents.
The local authorities admitted that one of their main aims was to catch householders who put their bins out early.
The shocking way in which the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - an anti-terror law - is being used was revealed through freedom of information requests made by the Daily Mail.
MPs and civil liberties groups last night accused councils of using the draconian powers for trivial reasons.
Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty said: 'Snooping appears to have become the favourite pastime in town halls up and down the land.
'Common sense has gone out of the window and instead of putting out more bins, councils spy on householders as if they were terrorists.'
Tory communities spokesman Eric Pickles said: 'Under Labour, the rights and liberties of law-abiding citizens are being eroded through plans for ID cards, sinister microchip spies in bins and abuse of anti-terror laws by councils.
'Taxpayers' money is being wasted on bankrolling an army of municipal bureaucrats who have watched too many episodes of Spooks.'
The Mail requested information from all of the 474 councils in England. Of the 151 which replied, some 77 - more than half - said they had used the legislation in the last three years for suspected 'domestic waste, littering or fly-tipping offences'.
Although it is ostensibly an anti-terror law, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, or RIPA, is worded so loosely that it can be used to justify surveillance operations for a variety of reasons.
Other local authorities which gave details of how they used RIPA included Lewes District Council in East Sussex.
It admitted that the Act was used to gain evidence on residents who persistently left rubbish out at the wrong time.
South Bedfordshire council also admitted going through phone bills inside rubbish bags to identify who had left them outside.
Officers also electronically tagged certain types of rubbish to find out if they had been dumped illegally.
The shocking way in which the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - an anti-terror law - is being used was revealed through freedom of information requests made by the Daily Mail.
MPs and civil liberties groups last night accused councils of using the draconian powers for trivial reasons.
Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty said: 'Snooping appears to have become the favourite pastime in town halls up and down the land.
'Common sense has gone out of the window and instead of putting out more bins, councils spy on householders as if they were terrorists.'
Tory communities spokesman Eric Pickles said: 'Under Labour, the rights and liberties of law-abiding citizens are being eroded through plans for ID cards, sinister microchip spies in bins and abuse of anti-terror laws by councils.
'Taxpayers' money is being wasted on bankrolling an army of municipal bureaucrats who have watched too many episodes of Spooks.'
The Mail requested information from all of the 474 councils in England. Of the 151 which replied, some 77 - more than half - said they had used the legislation in the last three years for suspected 'domestic waste, littering or fly-tipping offences'.
Although it is ostensibly an anti-terror law, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, or RIPA, is worded so loosely that it can be used to justify surveillance operations for a variety of reasons.
Other local authorities which gave details of how they used RIPA included Lewes District Council in East Sussex.
It admitted that the Act was used to gain evidence on residents who persistently left rubbish out at the wrong time.
South Bedfordshire council also admitted going through phone bills inside rubbish bags to identify who had left them outside.
Officers also electronically tagged certain types of rubbish to find out if they had been dumped illegally.
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