This is being raised in light of what was said by the Minister of National Security, Martin Joseph in his budget speech in the Senate on Tuesday. He indicated that this initiative was based on the recommendations made by Major General Cameron Ross, which included the Omnibus Security Bill that encompasses a few pieces of legislation that are anticipated to be a major boost in the fight against crime. The bill of concern to me is the one that would allow for the “lawful” intercept of communication, the Interception of Communications Bill. Now something about this announcement tells me that they have been listening to our conversations for some time now but they are now making an attempt to do so legally. Small thing, I could live with that because I can tell you this, the intercept of communication is not concerned with whether you horning your woman, or whether you telling your best friend how often you go to the toilet. This is an attempt by law enforcement to use a tool that they may or may not have been using in the past to gather information that could be used legally in court against criminals. There are two problems with this that I foresee.
The first problem is the stupid criminal who was previously unaware that Trinidad and Tobago law enforcement held this capability is now aware. So what these criminals are going to do is evolve and find some other means of communication or develop some code to communicate. That is what criminals do, they always try to stay one step ahead of the law. But that is nothing I have faith in T&T law enforcement that they would handle this situation well.
The second problem is the alleged use of this tool by the Government to “spy” on their political enemies. This in the wrong hands could make or break an election. It could be used by the ruling party to gain inside information in order to gain an advantage in an election. If this indeed happens and we may never know if it does, it raises the question of how democratic is the election process.
Overall I think this is a good move on the part of the Government and somewhat of a feather in the worn and tattered hat of the Minister of National Security. Because something has to be done to combat this minority of people that are wreaking havoc on the rest of the nation. So they could tap my phone any day anytime whatever it takes to deal with this crime. What do you think about the proposed “lawful” intercept of communication?
The first problem is the stupid criminal who was previously unaware that Trinidad and Tobago law enforcement held this capability is now aware. So what these criminals are going to do is evolve and find some other means of communication or develop some code to communicate. That is what criminals do, they always try to stay one step ahead of the law. But that is nothing I have faith in T&T law enforcement that they would handle this situation well.
The second problem is the alleged use of this tool by the Government to “spy” on their political enemies. This in the wrong hands could make or break an election. It could be used by the ruling party to gain inside information in order to gain an advantage in an election. If this indeed happens and we may never know if it does, it raises the question of how democratic is the election process.
Overall I think this is a good move on the part of the Government and somewhat of a feather in the worn and tattered hat of the Minister of National Security. Because something has to be done to combat this minority of people that are wreaking havoc on the rest of the nation. So they could tap my phone any day anytime whatever it takes to deal with this crime. What do you think about the proposed “lawful” intercept of communication?
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