70 members of the police, the judiciary, civil rights groups, charity workers, academics and students gathered at Cumberland Lodge to discuss surveillance and privacy. It was made evident in the course of the conference that there has been an explosion in the availability of powerful technologies with which to intrude into people’s lives. Non-technological surveillance techniques, such as the police use of Section 44 powers to stop and search, were also considered. There were significant doubts raised, however, as to whether the level of ethical debate over the appropriate use of these technologies and techniques had kept pace with their increasingly widespread use. The conference sought to redress this imbalance, while offering delegates an analysis of the current use of surveillance techniques by law enforcement agencies.
