The use of SIMs to increase year by year

With each passing year, the application of SIMs (Special Investigative Means) has been increasing, while their effectiveness as evidence in court is declining. This became clear during the national meeting on the implementation and use of SIMs, involving the chairmen of the appellate, district and military courts, as well as the management of the Prosecutor's Office in the Cigov Chark resort yesterday. 

Since 2008, the number of wiretapping permits has increased three-fold. A total of 5,898 wiretaps were authorised in 2008, while in 2010 the number of permits rose to nearly 16,000. According to the data disclosed by the Deputy Chairman of SCC (Supreme Court of Cassation of the Republic of Bulgaria), Grozdan Iliev, in the last years, the use of SIMs has increased three-fold, and a total of 11,561 wiretapping permits were issued by the Sofia and Plovdiv Appellate Regions."The increase is mostly due to the drafted amendments to existing legislation which permit the extensive use of SIMs," emphasised Iliev. However, their effectiveness as evidence in court has been decreasing with each passing year and, if in 2008 this percentage was 15%, last year it fell to 12%. 

The Prosecutor's Office has been the leading investigative body, followed by the Ministry of Interior (MI) and SANS (State Agency for National Security). They have asked for the court's authorisation for the use of SIMs. The report of SCC clarified that wiretapping has become a priority at the expense of other methods, such as tracking and the use of special agents. 

According to Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev, the system is clogged with requests for the use of SIMs. However, he noted that the court approved the Prosecutor's Office request for the application of SIMs in 99.1% of the cases. "Does the Prosecutor's Office always bring forth arguments in a brilliant way or is there over-reliance on its motives as a result of increased collegiality," asked Velchev. He also acknowledged that magistrates were making political decisions when assessing whether the results of the SIMs were confidential. "For about a month, SIMs were completely out of the professional field, and became the subject of politics and scandal," said SCC Chairman, Lazar Gruev. "Effective strategies against crime inevitably necessitate the use of such tools. In fact, the point is not to forget about the balance needed because when we sacrifice freedom at the expense of security, most often both are lost," stated Gruev. 

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