UK Promises Not to Arrest Photographers Anymore!

[disneyboy2003]

Maybe it's finally safe for pro & amateur photographers, hobbyists, photography students, and tourists with cameras to return to the UK with their cameras! Just in time for the 2012 Olympics!

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1003/10031003ukgovstatement.asp

The UK Policing and Crime Minister has reasserted that anti-terrorism should not be used to stop photographers and photojournalists. In a meeting with a Parliamentary photography group and journalists, David Hanson MP said the Sections 44 and 58A of the 2000 Terrorist Act should not be 'used to stop ordinary people taking photos or to curtail legitimate journalistic activity'. He also said guidance to that effect has been provided to the UK police forces, advising that these powers should not be used to stop innocent members of the public, tourists and journalists.

Here are some earlier incidents in the UK involving photographers suspected of "terrorist-like" photography:

• UK man arrested for taking pictures of Christmas decorations at a local town center! (link)
• Photography student arrested and fined for filming local buildings in London (link)
• Photographer stopped & searched by police for taking photos of St Paul's Cathedral (link)
• Photographer arrested for taking pictures of a local fish & chips restaurant and for being "too tall" (link)
• Family & neighbors harassed by UK police after husband took pictures of trains while on vacation. (link)
• Father & son tourists forced by London police to delete vacation photos (link)
• Local UK artist arrested, fingerprinted, and DNA collected for photographing local buildings, despite having done so for the past 25 years (link)
• UK man suspected of taking photos of sewer gratings was imprisoned for 2 days, home searched, and his DNA collected. No such photos were found (link)

 

[mom2rtk]

Are your sure these didn't happen in the old Soviet Union????

 

[MICKEY88]

Are your sure these didn't happen in the old Soviet Union????

similar things have happened in the good ole USA...

most often it involves overzealous security people,

I know photographers that keep an extra card handy to quicly switch it out so if asked to delete pictures they delete the empty card,

the funny thing is you can delete your pics and then recover them with good software,, so the security people have accomplished nothing

 

[mom2rtk]

similar things have happened in the good ole USA...

most often it involves overzealous security people,

I know photographers that keep an extra card handy to quicly switch it out so if asked to delete pictures they delete the empty card,

the funny thing is you can delete your pics and then recover them with good software,, so the security people have accomplished nothing

Great idea.......

I'm thinking though that at least the security guards can't put you in JAIL!

 

[disneyboy2003]

I know photographers that keep an extra card handy to quicly switch it out so if asked to delete pictures they delete the empty card,

the funny thing is you can delete your pics and then recover them with good software,, so the security people have accomplished nothing

Both of these are GREAT ideas! I'm not sure I'd be slick enough to switch memory cards discreetly while being grilled by a security or police officer.

I totally forgot about recovering deleted photos! I guess I won't have to be as mad if I'm ever forced to delete photos in the future. I can walk away with a smile, knowing that those photos can magically re-appear with a little bit of software magic.

I'm thinking though that at least the security guards can't put you in JAIL!

No, but security guards can make things really ugly, and ultimately, they can call the police who DO have the power to put folks in jail.

 

[MICKEY88]

http://www.krages.com/phoright.htmI always carry a copy of this with me

 

[boBQuincy]

Railroad police can be very difficult sometimes, some of them like to quote made-up rules about homeland security banning photos of railroads, even when taken from public land. Some states give them full police authority with little oversight, making for a very touchy situation.

 

[Shutterbug]

OH yes it happens here in the USA too.
Even here in lil Akron Ohio.

This was back in 2003 still irks me what happened to this photographer

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=005zOm

 

[disneyboy2003]

Railroad police can be very difficult sometimes, some of them like to quote made-up rules about homeland security banning photos of railroads, even when taken from public land. Some states give them full police authority with little oversight, making for a very touchy situation.

OH yes it happens here in the USA too.

Did you hear about the Amtrak police officers arresting a person who was taking photos of trains, ironically, for an Amtrak photo contest?

Here's the story: link

Here's a video of Stephen Colbert's hilarious take on the story: link


When I first bought my DSLR, I had no idea that all this hassle and harassment came along with it!