Mastermind and the road to Damascus

[John Wilson]

2009/2/23 Roland Perry <lists@internetpolicyagency.com>:
>
> If there are no photos, how can they charge you with the offence?


I think that the worry many professional photographers have is that
this law will be used to obstruct them when taking photographs of the
Police doing things the Police would rather not have recorded.

So the scenario is that a photographer is approached and asked to show
the officer the images that have already been taken. This process can
be extended to last 10-15 minutes by which time whatever was happening
will have finished. n the end the officer is satisfied that no offence
is committed but the photographer has missed the pictures.

Press photographers have been complaining about this sort of thing
happening with the existing anti terror laws for some time. Also some
officers do not know, or behave as if they do not know, the law on
photography in England.

So the worry for press photographers is not that they will be arrested
but that they will be obstructed.

For non professional street photographers the problems seem to mostly
come from PCSOs who have only the vaguest grasp of the relevant law
and even what powers they actually have been given (which is in
general, will you please wait here until a real copper arrives).

John Wilson