Police are investigating thousands of phones per year – now the threshold is going to be raised
Privacy|According to a proposal from the Ministry of Justice, the police could no longer investigate the contents of the equipment by its own decision.
The abstract is made by artificial intelligence and checked by man.
The Ministry of Justice proposes that the police in the future need the prior approval of the courts and other devices suspected of crimes. Nowadays, the police can investigate the equipment by its own decision.
The legal reform is influenced by the policy of the European Union's court.
According to the EU Court of Justice, access to the information contained in the mobile phone may allow for accurate conclusions from the person's private life. The question can be a very serious interference with fundamental rights.
Police Each year, investigates thousands of mobile phones and other devices in criminal investigations. The threshold for equipment searches may rise soon if the draft law prepared by the Ministry of Justice is implemented.
« It is possible that the number of equipment searches will decrease slightly in the future, » says the Specialist at the Ministry of Justice Joni Korpinen.
The reform of the legal reform is influenced by the recent decision of the European Court of Justice. Last October, the EU court outlined that police must, in principle, apply for a pre-authorized authorization for a mobile phone or other independent governing body.
According to the EU Court of Justice, access to the information contained in the mobile phone may allow for accurate conclusions from the person's private life. The question can be a very serious interference with fundamental rights.
Currently, Finland is not acted as required by the EU Court, although the court's decision-making practice is not fully clear to the extent, according to the Ministry of Justice.
The legal reform is to be implemented quickly, even this spring.
Today Device exploration may be decided by an arresting officer, such as a police investigator-in-chief. The threshold for examining equipment has been low.
According to the draft law, the decision could be made in the future, but by way of derogation, the decision should still be taken to the court for confirmation of the court.
The court would accept or dismiss the investigation of the device. Police and other pre -investigating authorities could only investigate the contents of mobile phones, computers and other devices after the court confirmation.
Some There would be exceptions to the new confirmation procedure. The control of the court would not be needed at all, inter alia, if it is clear that the device does not contain private information about any person.
In addition, in urgent cases, the device-finding decision could only be taken to the court for confirmation of the court only after the search.
Device search is a key coercion for the investigation of several crimes. Crime is increasingly being committed online and using various IT terminals. In other crimes, the crucial evidence of crime is often online or on terminal equipment.
The legislative reform is not changing how serious or minor criminal suspicions can be examined.
Police may carry out equipment search when the severe penalty imposed on the crime under investigation is at least half a year in prison.
The border is so low that the authorities can virtually investigate the contents of the equipment in the context of almost all crime degrees. For example, vandalism investigated as damage may be a justification.
However, Joni Korpinen of the Ministry of Justice believes that the new court's confirmation procedure would emphasize the importance of the principle of proportionality and could thus increase the threshold for equipment searches.
According to the principle of proportionality, the lower the crime is the threshold for investigating equipment and the more people's right to privacy is violated.
The Ministry of Justice has sent the draft law to the consultation.
