Hertfordshire County Council used investigatory powers to catch several fraudsters last year as well as a number of shops selling vapes to youngsters, a meeting heard.

The council presented its annual report on its regulation of investigatory powers (RIPA) to members of its Public Health & Community Safety committee last week.

The report revealed how officers have legal powers to conduct activities such as direct surveillance and monitoring social media in order to investigate potential crimes.

It stated that in the year April 2025 to March 2026, Herts County Council carried out two surveillance operations. Both operations related to test purchases of vapes to underage volunteers. Of the 19 shops tested, four of the businesses made sales to youngsters. One of them, Watford Home Store Ltd in The Parade, Watford, was fined £4,345 for the offence at St Albans Court on May 6, while the other three stores remain under investigation by Trading Standards.

A woman holds a vaping device (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

placeholder image — A woman holds a vaping device (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, 86 applications to access individuals’ communications data from providers were made under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA), with 83 of the requests granted.

Successful investigations using communications data included a council tenant who was sub-letting her property and using a third party to collect cash payments, while she lived elsewhere. Communications data proved she was at another address and led to the termination of her tenancy.

Another case involved two rogue traders who allegedly swindled a vulnerable resident out of thousands of pounds for unnecessary repairs. While investigators were able to identify one of the two men, they relied upon communications data from his phone to find the second man. Both are now facing legal proceedings.

In a different investigation referred to in last year’s annual report, communications data evidence helped secure guilty pleas from three defendants, with the final one scheduled to stand trial in September 2026.

One of these three cases referred to Arthur Draper, 41, of no fixed address, who cold-called addresses in Hertfordshire from November 2022 to January 2023 to pressure residents into urgent roof repairs.

Draper’s fraud operation totalled £141,900, with £90,200 obtained via cheques and bank transfers. Trading Standards used communications data as part of the investigation, leading to a three-year jail term for conspiracy to commit fraud at Leicester Crown Court in December last year.

The local authority is required to review its policies on its use of investigatory powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) at least once a year.

Councillors made no comment on the report except for a single question asking if there was a comparable report for its use of CCTV. Officers stated there was not, as this did not require policies under the legislation.