A total of 2596 requests for using special surveillance devices were sent by Bulgaria are prosecuting authority to the court in 2012, down by 4.1% from 2011 (2936).
According to the annual report of the prosecuting authority, as cited by Sega daily, almost all requests were approved.
The permits to use special surveillance equipment approved in 2012 concerned a total of 1609 people (the number includes people for whom permits issued in 2011 were extended in 2012).
The number of people handed to court authorities after the use of surveillance equipment was 440 in 2012.
In early March, an electronic register of special surveillance equipment used in pre-trial proceedings was launched.
The information from the register provided the opportunity to analyze the activities surrounding the application of surveillance equipment in pre-trial proceedings and to adopt appropriate measures to improve the work of the prosecuting authority on these cases.
In 2012, a total of 213 people won lawsuits against the prosecuting authority under the Act on the Liability for Damage Incurred by the State and the Municipalities and the amount of damages under decisions which took effect was nearly BGN 2 M. These are cases in which a person was arrested and the arrest was subsequently revoked, cases in which charges were pressed against a person and the person was subsequently acquitted and cases in which penalties imposed under the Penal Code or administrative penalties were subsequently canceled.