Proposal to expand wiretapping to lesser crimes
Border Guard to get right to listen in on calls - Ministry of Justice opposes proposal
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Finnish officials could get the right to listen to telephone calls, and to monitor electronic correspondence of people suspected of lesser crimes than now is the case.
A working group of the Ministry of the Interior is working on a proposal that would extend the scope of wiretapping to some crimes that are punishable by fines.
The proposal would also grant the Border Guard the right to monitor phone calls and telecommunications, just like the police and customs authorities.
Under the proposal, monitoring calls would be be permissible in the investigation of those suspected of organising illegal entry into the country - a crime for which conviction can result in a fine, and in the most severe cases, up to two years imprisonment.
The working group has asked for comments on the proposal from 71 different institutions, non-governmental organisations, and other experts.
In its comment, the Ministry of Justice sharply opposed extending the use of telecommunications surveillance to simple facilitation of illegal entry, a violation which normally is punished only with fines.
However, even the Ministry of Justice would approve electronic surveillance if there are aggravating circumstances.
The working group also proposes that the Border Guard should be authorised to eavesdrop on the phone calls of those suspected of certain crimes, and to ascertain their telecommunications records.
Current practice is for the Border Guard to set up joint task forces with police, if electronic surveillance is deemed necessary.
A legislative change in the autumn of 2005 allowed the Border Guard to conduct independent crime investigations. Such investigations usually involve illegal entry.
The Ministry of Justice feels that the working group does not put forward sufficient justification for extending surveillance authority to the Border Guard.
Finland’s Mobile Police feel that the Border Guard already has “sufficient” investigative authority, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) does not feel that extending the authority is “necessary”.
The Security Police (SUPO) supports what it sees as a well-prepared proposal. The Directorate of Immigration and the office of the Prosecutor-General are also in favour of an extension of the authority of the Border Guard.
Katriina Laitinen of the Ministry of the Interior says that the working group will fine-tune the proposal on the basis of the comments, but no great changes are expected.
The government is expected to bring a proposal on the extension of electronic surveillance rights sometime this year.
If Parliament approves the measure, the new legislation would come into force in May next year.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 11.8.2008 - TODAY |
 Proposal to expand wiretapping to lesser crimes |
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