Electronic Surveillance: The National Crime Authority Perspective (From Listening Devices and Electronic Surveillance: Police Powers and Citizen's Rights, P 11-19, 1987 -- See NCJ-114102)

• NCJ Number: 114103
• Author(s): G Blewitt
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: Sydney University
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This paper examines the use of electronic surveillance in law enforcement in Australia.

Abstract

Because organized crime, particularly in the area of drug trafficking, is becoming more sophisticated in its methods, electronic surveillance is a necessary tool for penetrating the upper echelons of organized crime and gathering admissible evidence. Operation Silo, conducted by the National Crime Authority, illustrates this point. As a result of telecommunication interceptions, it was possible to prosecute and convict two major drug traffickers. Under the Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment Act (TIAA) of 1987, authority to use electronic surveillance has been extended to State and Territory police forces in the investigation of a variety of serious offenses (e.g., murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, offenses punishable by 7 years or more imprisonment). While the public has always been wary of the erosion of civil liberties and the encroachment of official power, there are a number of safeguards that minimize the inevitable invasion of personal privacy that results from electronic surveillance. Some of these safeguards are built into the National Crime Authority's system of checks and balances. Stringent safeguards in the TIAA attempt to ensure that an interception facility is used only when necessary and includes requirements for judicial warrants, audits by an independent authority, and regulations on the use and disclosure of the products of intercepts. Additional safeguards against abuses are contained in the New South Wales Listening Devices Act.