BRUSSELS — The federal police force bugged double the amount of telephones last year compared with 2003.

The increase was attributed to the increasing ease with which telephones can be bugged. Federal police have also established a specialised telephone bugging centre.

However, police stress that any surveillance of telephone calls is conducted under the supervision of a judge, newspaper ‘De Tijd’ reported on Monday.

Federal police have been allowed to tap telephone calls since legislation was enacted in 1994.

They can intercept SMS and email messages also, the newspaper reported.

Police tapped a record number of telephone lines last year: 2,562 compared with 1,336 in 2003.

[Copyright Expatica News 2005]

Subject: Belgian news