Police seek warrantless wiretaps
New police powers would allow police to wiretap anyone they consider suspicious. Unchecked powers could lead to abuse, say experts.
New police powers would allow police to wiretap anyone they consider suspicious. Unchecked powers could lead to abuse, say experts.
SURVEILLANCE & CITIZEN RIGHTS
Police seek warrantless wiretaps
11/08/2016
Wassayos Ngamkham and Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong
Police are seeking the cabinet's go-ahead to wiretap criminal suspects without having to wait for a court's permission (warrantless wiretapping).
Police say warrantless wiretapping will make their work easier, speed up investigations and allow them to keep up with fast-moving developments in a case. Long waits for court approvals hurt investigations.
The police are requesting warantless wiretapping powers in four kinds of cases -- terrorism, transnational crimes, security cases and complex crimes with a statue of limitations of at least three years.
However, experts say that one of these types of cases is defined so broadly that it covers almost everything namely "complex crimes with a statue of limitations of at least three years."
The warrantless wiretapping request is believed to have support and backing from other security forces and the National Security Council (NSC).
WHY IS COURT PERMISSION NEEDED?
Currently, officials require a court order (warrant) if they want to intercept and read telephone conversations, letters, postcards, publications and documents which are mailed or sent electronically over the internet.
Violations of privacy rights are a real possibility with warrantless wiretapping, according to experts.
By authorising security forces to wiretap criminal suspects, the cabinet would be approving violations of citizens' right to privacy, says human rights advocate Winyat Chatmontree.
The definition of the crimes subject to warrantless wiretapping, or that of a "criminal suspect", may be subject to wide interpretation.
Previously, authorities were only permitted to wiretap individuals who had been formally accused during an investigation.
However, the amendment will permit security forces to wiretap practically anyone they consider dubious or suspicious, he argued.
Without the need for a court mandate, he said officers would have unchecked powers, which could lead to abuse.
"The court acts as a guardian of the public interest," he said. "If this step is bypassed, who will be able to scrutinise the work of the security forces?"
REASON: DSI HAS POWER, SO POLICE WANT IT TOO
Police said the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) already has authorisation to wiretap and eavesdrop based on the act governing the agency, but police still have no such power.
An amendment to Section 15 of the Criminal Procedure Code would give police the power to wiretap without court permission.
REASON: POLICE ARE ACTING ILLEGALLY ALREADY, SO WHY NOT MAKE IT LEGAL
A source attached to the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) said without the law change, police secretly (surreptitiously) ask for phone records from telecommunications service providers as part of criminal probes without seeking court approval.
Coming up with laws to legitimise the approach would help ensure the investigation is done lawfully and protect officers who are performing their duties, the source noted.
"This is a matter of bringing something underground up to the surface," the source said. "The laws would make police work easier."
WIRETAPPING & POLITICS
That state surveillance powers will be used for private political or business purposes or by the state to intrude into the private lives of citizens, has long been a concern in many western countries.
In the US, the Watergate scandal that lead to the downfall of president Richard Nixon in 1974 included burglary and wiretapping of the headquarters of the Democratic party at the Watergate Hotel.
This brought an awareness to the US public at the time of wiretapping and its dangers that continues on to present-day concerns over violations of privacy under the NSA.
The 1974 Cannes Film festival award-winning film The Conversation explores the dangers of wiretapping (see here & here).
In 2013, under US president Obama's administration, secret documents were leaked by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden that revealed a global system of surveillance in useThe surveillance is an ongoing concern for the American public (see here).
Protest poster in the US.
Scene from The Conversation.
Movie poster from the 1974 film The Conversation that first brought public awareness in the US to possible wiretapping & surveillance abuses.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/security/1058430/security-forces-seek-warrantless-wiretaps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_tapping
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveillance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_on_mass_surveillance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conversation
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-conversation-1974
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