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http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Braehead/288861364476077
Good story ending in victory for the photographer
Good story ending in victory for the photographer
police and pcsos stop press photographing recent lawrence inquiry
read the comments to http://photothisandthat.co.uk/2012/01/07/police-censorship/
This is a little out of date as s44 has been deemed illegal anyway but it is irrelevant unless you are in london as the met has no jurisdiction outside their own area in relation to what officers from other forces do or don't do.
Does this mean there are different rules for shooting in London?
I'm going tomorrow and just want to check.:/
cowasaki said:The law is the same anywhere in England or Wales unless a Bylaw has been passed. The reality is that the entire English law if written down would be more than 10 times the size of the encyclopaedia Britannica and as such not every officer knows every bit of it. Ask an officer in London about the laws on Hare coursing and you will probably get a blank look whilst an officer in the dales would real it off. Sometimes officers get it wrong but there are 200000 police officers and one getting it wrong makes headlines with people tarring every police officer with the same brush. On that basis every professional photographer is a thief and treats their customers fraudulently! Well we had a member on here who we banned for stealing a lens off a lens rental company and we had a discussion about a professional photographer who ripped off their clients after taking their money!!
The anti terrorism offences came out and as with any law police looked at the law and interpreted it. Courts made decisions based on these interpretations and following that these decisions effectively clarify parts of the law. Several forces decided that taking photographs of possible terrorist targets would fall within this law. This has since been shown not to be the case.
Now in 2012 the VAST majority of police officers and PCSOs know what the current guidelines are. Yes some don't but they are few and far between but yes you could possibly come across them.
The vast majority of issues come from peoples attitude, if you stay calm and explain what you are doing then you are unlikely to have an issue. If you stick your camera in the police officers face whilst shouting "YOU CAN'T STOP ME TAKING YOUR PHOTOGRAPH AND ANYWAY I EARN MORE THAN YOU.... BLAH BLAH BLAH" then you might find that you end up committing a public order offence. I have seen video footage of this exact thing happening and the person went to the papers who published the story. They didn't feel like publishing the story that it had been caught on CCTV and the chap with the camera had been found guilty of section 5 public order.
HOWEVER.....
There are some places where it IS illegal to take photographs such as into a military air base, nuclear power station etc.
AND.....
The place you are most likely to have an issue is from a security guard not a police officer or PCSO. Most security guards haven't got a clue as to what their powers are or the law in general. They can ask you to leave private property so you are normally best asking permission first (but not the security guard, ask the manager and explain).
This is why i love living in rural devon , i got "stopped" by our local cop this morning, conversation went like this
Him: Alright Pete , nice camera
Me : Hi mike, yeah just been getting some beach shots
Him: Nice , you'll have to show me sometime , anyway have you got a minuite to talk about the jubilee
me: yeah no probs, fancy a brew...
lol - just over the headland from me (I'm based in branscombe)
you get used to it - Ive been here about a year and these days i reckon if the wing mirrors arent touching both banks then its a major road
you think branscombes bad you want to try some of the little roads up towards luppit from honiton - Grass growing in the middle of the road isnt usually a good sign , nettles and small shrubs growing in the middle of the road is a sign that you should have brought the 4x4
The law is the same anywhere in England or Wales unless a Bylaw has been passed. The reality is that the entire English law if written down would be more than 10 times the size of the encyclopaedia Britannica and as such not every officer knows every bit of it. Ask an officer in London about the laws on Hare coursing and you will probably get a blank look whilst an officer in the dales would real it off. Sometimes officers get it wrong but there are 200000 police officers and one getting it wrong makes headlines with people tarring every police officer with the same brush. On that basis every professional photographer is a thief and treats their customers fraudulently! Well we had a member on here who we banned for stealing a lens off a lens rental company and we had a discussion about a professional photographer who ripped off their clients after taking their money!!
The anti terrorism offences came out and as with any law police looked at the law and interpreted it. Courts made decisions based on these interpretations and following that these decisions effectively clarify parts of the law. Several forces decided that taking photographs of possible terrorist targets would fall within this law. This has since been shown not to be the case.
Now in 2012 the VAST majority of police officers and PCSOs know what the current guidelines are. Yes some don't but they are few and far between but yes you could possibly come across them.
The vast majority of issues come from peoples attitude, if you stay calm and explain what you are doing then you are unlikely to have an issue. If you stick your camera in the police officers face whilst shouting "YOU CAN'T STOP ME TAKING YOUR PHOTOGRAPH AND ANYWAY I EARN MORE THAN YOU.... BLAH BLAH BLAH" then you might find that you end up committing a public order offence. I have seen video footage of this exact thing happening and the person went to the papers who published the story. They didn't feel like publishing the story that it had been caught on CCTV and the chap with the camera had been found guilty of section 5 public order.
HOWEVER.....
There are some places where it IS illegal to take photographs such as into a military air base, nuclear power station etc.
AND.....
The place you are most likely to have an issue is from a security guard not a police officer or PCSO. Most security guards haven't got a clue as to what their powers are or the law in general. They can ask you to leave private property so you are normally best asking permission first (but not the security guard, ask the manager and explain).
you get used to it - Ive been here about a year and these days i reckon if the wing mirrors arent touching both banks then its a major road
you think branscombes bad you want to try some of the little roads up towards luppit from honiton - Grass growing in the middle of the road isnt usually a good sign , nettles and small shrubs growing in the middle of the road is a sign that you should have brought the 4x4
There are very few places where it is actually an offence to take photos: train stations !; nuclear power stations; military bases etc
Unfortunately the original thread from 2009 was closed which is a shame because there were some cynical responses in it (probably from MET police officers!) anyway the young lady concerned has just won damages.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/19/police-payout-student-arrested-filming?CMP=twt_gu
No, its the long arm of the Law
Les
This is why i love living in rural devon , i got "stopped" by our local cop this morning, conversation went like this
Him: Alright Pete , nice camera
Me : Hi Mike, yeah just been getting some beach shots
Him: Nice , you'll have to show me sometime , anyway have you got a minuite to talk about the jubilee
me: yeah no probs, come into the office, fancy a brew...
Its a hard life
"I am pleased with the settlement but money alone does not erase what happened and I am left with consternation that the systems in place to protect citizens from police brutality do not work," Bonomo said.