Why do the police want more surveillance powers?
The police argue that their current powers of investigation are insufficient to deal with the challenges posed by new information and communication technologies. They say that they are experiencing increasing difficulty conducting cybercrime investigations and prosecuting criminals for a number of reasons. They argue that new technologies enable criminals to commit crimes anywhere in the world from the safety and relative anonymity of remote locations. Current search and seizure powers do not permit the gathering of enough evidence to pursue criminals successfully. And telecommunications service providers’ control over their own communications systems frustrates police attempts to conduct electronic surveillance. With respect to the the proposal to force TSPs to put in place more convenient means by which police can intercept communications, the government explains: “when a new technology is introduced, although law enforcement or CSIS have authority to lawfully intercept communication
