Canadian Lawyer

raised $2,500 for Access Pro Bono plus publicity for Victoria law firm Hemminger Schmid. Even the donated suit ��� on which Campbell had sewn buttons to keep the jacket from opening ��� was given to a charity organization providing clothing for those looking for work. Promoting one���s self and firm often takes the form of more staid social receptions or legal events ���and those are necessary, too,��� says Campbell, but as an avid runner he saw the opportunity to do something more in line with his personal interests. He had read about someone who ran a marathon in a suit landing in the record books. He looked at that person���s time. ���I knew what I could run,��� he says. ���I knew I could beat that time comfortably and decided to go for it and decided to tie it into a charity such as Access Pro Bono.��� Campbell, who took a sabbatical from the firm in Janaury to compete professionally, has been running since childhood. He was raised in Lagos, Nigeria and Mijas, Spain before the family moved to Canada when he was 16, living in Port Hope and Kingston, Ont., before moving to Victoria. He trains with former Olympian and now coach Jon Brown, who competed for Britain in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and placed fourth in the marathon event. When training, Campbell runs mountainous terrain such as Victoria���s Mount Finlayson at Goldstream Provincial Park and, further up Vancouver Island, he runs in the wilderness at Strathcona Provincial Park. ���I see some beautiful areas,��� he says. Campbell, who runs up to 240 km a week, is now on the international circuit competing for prize money and sponsorships. He is following the 2013 Skyrunner World Ultra Series of races in Europe this summer with race distances of up to 170 km. ���It���s now or never,��� he says, as he recognized the opportunity to take a break from law and run professionally. ���I���ve been able to make my avocation my vocation,��� he says, although he plans to return to practice. ��� Jean Sorensen jean_sorensen@telus.net LEGAL COMMUNITY SHOULD QUESTION SCANNING SYSTEMS V ictoria defence lawyer Michael Mulligan is sounding the alarm over how police use information collected from automated scanning programs, such as Bar Watch and the RCMP���s automated license plate recognition (ALPR) program. Police have been collecting and storing information about every person who goes into a bar or whose car is passed by a police car, says Mulligan. ���When they are storing this information to permit the retrospective tracking of people, [it] is a serious privacy concern.��� Mulligan has been vocal on the issue locally and believes lawyers across Canada should also start questioning these programs. His concerns first arose when his firm Mulligan Tam Pearson made a request under the province���s freedom of information legislation for information from the Victoria Bar Watch program, which allows bars and nightclubs to electronically scan identification to determine if a potential patron has been involved in gang activity, drug trafficking, or has behavior problems. It operates through the Victoria Police Department���s database. What the FOI query returned distressed Mulligan and other lawyers in the office. Police e-mails were circulating internally reminding members of how to use the stored information during an investigation to determine a person���s whereabouts. ���It was a former officer in charge of the program reminding other police officers how useful it could be,��� he says. It also included information reminding bars to scan all individuals regardless of their status (Mulligan says he has now turned over the information to the B.C. privacy commissioner���s office). Mulligan points out it is not the first time this issue has arisen. The B.C. information and privacy commissioner���s office has had concerns regarding how police collect and store information from the ALPR, which was introduced to allow police officers to quickly recognize stolen vehicles, suspended drivers, or individuals with outstanding warrants. In November 2012, the privacy commissioner issued a report highlighting two concerns: the storing of information on all drivers to be used in the future and some surveillance uses of the system that extended beyond the program���s original intent. The scanning system in a patrol car captures information and downloads it to the RCMP server, where non-hit information is deleted. At issue in the report was how long the information is stored and who is using it in the interval. In late January, the RCMP said it was changing the process and attempting to come up with a solution that would see officers deleting non-hit information before downloading. When that system is put in place, Mulligan feels lawyers should be querying the fairness of it as well. ���What qualifies as a hit?��� he asks, adding too broad a definition could again violate an individual���s privacy rights. It should concern lawyers right across Canada. ���This is all over the place,��� he says. Mulligan, whose expertise lies in computer forensics, says evolving technology is creating massive privacy issues. There are a barrage of scanning devices (everywhere from toll bridges and licence plate scanners, to credit or debit card terminals) and cameras (in stores, businesses, and some public areas). As a result, lawyers need to be cognizant of how that information is used, and whether it is in public or private hands as it raises new privacy issues. Checks and balances have traditionally existed to preserve an individual���s right to privacy and if they are violated there needs to be a strong legal basis for doing so. Digital recordings and databases can provide strong crime fighting tools, he says. ���They can help the defence as well as the prosecution, but, at what cost?��� ��� JS www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m March 2013 13

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