Keith Bristow, the director general of the National Crime Agency (NCA), said increased surveillance is necessary because cybercrime and terrorism are among Great Britain’s biggest national security threats. The NCA is analogous to America’s FBI.
The public must agree to give up certain freedoms in exchange for greater safety and security, he believes. “If we seek to operate outside of what the public consent to, that, for me, by definition is not policing by consent…the consent is expressed through legislation. We operate within the law,” said Bristow.
Bristow’s statements come after Theresa May, the country’s home secretary, urged expanding surveillance powers last week at Great Britain’s ruling Conservative Party conference. She argued that crimes are occurring because the government is losing its ability to store communications data, reports The Telegraph. A communications data bill to expand that ability, supported by the Conservatives, was blocked by the Liberal Democrats over concerns of the erosion of civil liberties.
Bristow acknowledged that he had not done a good job in persuading the public why they should give up digital freedoms, but said that once the situation is explained properly the public would understand.
The communication bill is dubbed the “snoopers charter” by its critics. The UK-based digital watchdog Open Rights Group (ORG) expressed concern over what it sees as the government’s intention to increase its powers to allow “unchecked whole population profiling.” Judges and not politicians should authorize targeted surveillance to fight organized crime and terrorism, ORG said, noting that democratic oversight is crucial to prevent governmental abuse of power.
