People under covert surveillance for noise complaints could be handed a letter letting them know they are being investigated by Dundee City Council.
A report by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners recommends the council reconsider its use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 (RIPA) when carrying out noise nuisance investigations.
Between 2015 and 2016, the council approved authorisation for direct surveillance 29 times.
More than a third of the direct surveillance operations which were authorised in the last year have been in relation to noise nuisance.
The Office of Surveillance Commissioners published a report in to Dundee City Council’s use of covert surveillance in July.
Over the last three years, Dundee City Council has authorised a third of surveillance operations in Scotland.
Councillors will meet on Monday to discuss whether to approve six recommendations made by the inspection report.
The commissioners office report indicates Dundee City Council’s use of surveillance was “all entirely appropriate”.
The council will now move to write to those under surveillance for a noise nuisance complaint using noise equipment, informing them they are under investigation.
This would make the surveillance “overt”, as opposed to “covert”- according to the council.
Councillors will also discuss whether investigators should hand out letters to those under camera surveillance during a noise nuisance investigation.
The executive director of corporate services, Marjory Stewart, has told councillors: “There has been a meeting with the Neighbourhood Services and it has been agreed that the use of noise equipment shall be the subject of warning letters and shall thereafter no longer be considered a covert operation but an overt operation in most cases.
“As a result, the number of authorisations should decrease. Consideration should also be given as to whether, in the case of cameras, operations can be moved from covert to overt operations.
“Finally, in the case of test purchasing, consideration should also be given as to whether this is carried out in an overt manner rather than a covert manner, although it should be noted that the Inspector’s Report commended our present practice in this area. ”
Liam Fox MSP, the Scottish Conservative representative for North East Scotland, said: “Given the disproportionate use of surveillance by Dundee City Council compared to other Scottish local authorities, I would welcome any moves to tighten up regulation.
“I think most local residents would have some degree of concern that the council is a ‘prolific’ user of these powers, whether it is deemed appropriate or not.
“A shift towards overt rather than covert surveillance would certainly be more transparent and would serve to avert potential problems relating to privacy or human rights issues.”
