Part 3: Police Workforce and Representative Institutions Chapter 1: Police workforce Section 44: Restrictions on designated persons acting as covert human intelligence sources
Section 29 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 ("RIPA") provides for the authorisation of the conduct or use of a covert human intelligence source. This section inserts new subsection (6A) into section 29 of RIPA, to provide that a staff member or volunteer, who is designated under section 38 of the 2002 Act, cannot be authorised to act as a covert human intelligence source, where such an authorisation would require or enable them to establish contact in person. This means that a designated staff member or volunteer would not be able to work undercover face to face, but could do so online, for example, as part of an online child sexual abuse investigation.