Legal News

A new report into the way in which the police and other law enforcement authorities use personal data and access public communications has revealed that as a result of police blunders, five men were wrongly identified as paedophiles – with four of the men’s homes being searched by police and one innocent man being arrested.

The Evening Standard reports that the government’s Interception of Communications Commissioner, Sir Anthony May, found that another blunder in which a telecommunication companies linked IP addresses to individual users resulted in 94 errors.

The report says that, as a result, 94 people were wrongly linked to an investigation.

Police discovered the errors after seizing people’s computers and finding no evidence to back up information from telecoms companies.

Sir Anthony says the police should have questioned the evidence provided by the telecoms companies once it became obvious the necessary evidence was not available.

However, the house raids and arrest were not connected to police interception of people’s communications, the report says.

Errors in which data was linked to the wrong person did result in delays to police checks on children who were believed to be in crisis, the reports reveals.

The report also reveals that three individuals who had downloaded indecent images of children could not be pursued by the authorities as a result of previous errors in linking data to the correct phone or computer user.

The original material which implicated some users in paedophile activities was lost as a result of the errors, the report reveals.

Sir Anthony has identified a total of 998 errors out of 517,000 instances when communications data was obtained.

The report focuses on 17 of the most serious errors, including police visiting innocent people’s homes and questioning them about suspected paedophile activities.

Telecommunications companies were responsible for nine errors in total – however, the report does not name the companies or the law enforcement agencies involved in the errors.

The report states that “naming and shaming” companies and agencies responsible for the errors may result in a subversive error culture, where mistakes are not acknowledged, leading to a “great impact” on the victims of such errors.

Sir Anthony has said that he hopes his report will contribute to the “significant public debate” about privacy and the intrusive powers of certain law enforcement agencies.

Duncan Lewis Crime Lawyers

Duncan Lewis crime lawyers are available 24/7, 365 days a year to advise at any stage of a criminal charge or investigation involving sexual offences such as grooming, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, rape, sexual assault, revenge porn, or making, distributing or downloading indecent images.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide and a criminal defence lawyer can usually reach a police station within 45 minutes.

Duncan Lewis can also advise on civil liberties matters such as wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.

For expert legal advice on criminal charges, call Duncan Lewis crime lawyers on 020 7923 4020.

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