Cops Failed to Act Above the Line With Data, Phone Taps

Cops Failed to Act Above the Line With Data, Phone Taps
Signage on a Police vehicle in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Sept 4, 2022. AAP Image/Aaron Bunch
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Two police forces have mishandled surveillance powers or ignored warrant applications, including in a case where a journalist and their source were tapped without an appropriate warrant.

Northern Territory (NT) Police accessed data relating to a journalist and their source on four occasions without a request or authorisation of a journalist information warrant, the Commonwealth ombudsman’s covert electronic surveillance review found.