Most of the stories I have heard about snappers being pulled by the plod wouldn't look out of place in a Keystone Cops comedy.
Example: Professional photographer carrying thousands of dollars of gear, with big bazooka lenses sticking out of every orifice takes shots of whatever and finds himself being rushed by everyone in any kind of uniform who thinks they have 'authority'.
Meanwhile, loads of people with cameraphones (all around said incident/ location) continue to snap/ film away without interference, even though some might fit certain 'profiles.' Some even photograph officials detaining photographer, whle being ignored by officials who make no attempt to prevent them from recording said incident, despite the fact that their identities are being recorded by numerous people at said location.
Pointing this out only makes the siatuation worse because they will say, "I know my job/ Don't tell me how to do my job." Having a huge laugh at the absurdity also aggravates the situation. One should also avoid questioning said official's intelligence quotient, grip on reality or ability to use common sense.
I applaud the acts of our ever vigilant officials because without them....
Here is a link to a good website with plenty of stories to have people in stitches over dinner at Xmas:
http://www.urban75.org/photos/photograp ... e-law.htmlBelow a few excerpts:
Chris Cheesman
Police admit they may have been 'overzealous' when they prevented a man taking pictures at a public event to celebrate the switching-on of some Christmas lights.Photography enthusiast Phil Smith has lodged a formal complaint against Suffolk Police after an officer stopped him taking pictures from a spectator area in front of Ipswich Town Hall on Sunday 18 November.
The 49-year-old had been hoping to snap some images of the main event - which included a visit from Cinderella and Postman Pat. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to enjoy the festive cheer.
His plans fell apart when a policewoman spotted him in the crowd taking pictures prior to the lights being turned on.
Phil told us the officer approached him asking: 'Have you got a licence to use the camera?'
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/ne ... 63500.htmlKent Police exceeded powers in too-tall photographer casePolice in Kent have at last acknowledged that arresting people for being too tall might not be a very good idea.
Or rather, arresting someone for no better reason than "because they could" was unlawful and not altogether sensible.
The story begins this July when photographer Alex Turner was stopped whilst taking snaps in Chatham High St and approached by two men, who refused to identify themselves, but demanded that he show them some ID. When he refused, they called for back-up. A PCSO and WPC arrived: Turner took a photo of the pair, and was promptly arrested.
He was then handcuffed, held in a police van for 20 minutes, searched in public by plain clothes officers before being released. It remains unclear, both from from his own account and from subsequent police explanations, exactly why he was arrested – although he did note at the time that the WPC stated she had felt threatened by his size - 5' 11" and about 12 stone - and implied that she found it intimidating.
Mr Turner complained: a police internal investigation was carried out; and this week, the Investigating Officer (IO) finally got back to him with the very welcome news that, according to their barrister, his arrest was unlawful.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/26 ... planation/PhotographyBLOG Editor, Mark Goldstein, was stopped and searched in central London yesterday for “taking photos of iconic landmarks”. Under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act, the Metropolitan Police are now conducting patrols along the South Bank of the River Thames, specifically targeting “individuals with cameras who are photographing famous buildings”. After informing the officer that I ran a photography website and giving her my business card, I was issued with Form 5090(X), with no actual search taking place. The whole process was somewhat undermined by two other officers posing for photos with tourists whilst their colleague completed the paperwork! I can only conclude that it was the bright pink Casio camera that I was testing at the time which attracted the police officer’s attention…
http://www.photographyblog.com/news/pbl ... _searched/
I'm not really a proper reporter, due to the chronic lack of discipline, negligible attention span, and a certain juvenile difficulty taking serious things seriously.
Andrew Mueller.