Jump to content

A visit from the Police!


Recommended Posts

Thanks for clarifying that you put them right. In similar circumstances my complaint would be that the officers did not know the law.

You obviously do stick up for photographers' rights and I for one thank you for it.

Thanks Paul, yes I suppose I do have a complaint that the officer doesn't know the law, and he did disagree with me, so I told him to check (that's also why I started the thread, to try and make sure I was right.)

Apologies to all if I didn't make myself clear.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One hopes that you're not now on their radar. It shouldn't happen, of course, but you may be seeing more of the local plod than you'd like in future. Cause for complaint in itself, of course, but you didn't start it, they did.

Hopefully they won't spend any more time treading on your side of the fine line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was approached by a PC while photographing the payday loan shops in Barrow-in-Furness (along with the betting shops they’ve pretty much taken over the high street). He said the proprietors didn’t like me taking pictures. Instead of taking his orders from loansharks, I suggested he should just uphold the law. If I was doing something wrong, he could arrest me. If not, I’d carry on. That was the end of the conversation…

How would you handle a shop owner coming out and threatening you?

It's happened twice to me where I live, and I've also had a car pull up with the occupants threatening me (no discussions, just threats) in my city. I've also had very nice civil discussions with people in the same areas.

Sounds like Barrow is like Bradford, pound shops, bookies, pawn shops, charity shops and fast food outlets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fair point, maybe the

 

 

I was approached by a PC while photographing the payday loan shops in Barrow-in-Furness (along with the betting shops they’ve pretty much taken over the high street). He said the proprietors didn’t like me taking pictures. Instead of taking his orders from loansharks, I suggested he should just uphold the law. If I was doing something wrong, he could arrest me. If not, I’d carry on. That was the end of the conversation…

How would you handle a shop owner coming out and threatening you?
It's happened twice to me where I live, and I've also had a car pull up with the occupants threatening me (no discussions, just threats) in my city. I've also had very nice civil discussions with people in the same areas.
Sounds like Barrow is like Bradford, pound shops, bookies, pawn shops, charity shops and fast food outlets.

 

Fair point, maybe said PC was actually protecting John by putting him on notice, and was actually on the alert for trouble himself. Hadn't thought of that.

As to how I would handle the shopowner, I'd let the police do it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One hopes that you're not now on their radar. It shouldn't happen, of course, but you may be seeing more of the local plod than you'd like in future. Cause for complaint in itself, of course, but you didn't start it, they did.

Hopefully they won't spend any more time treading on your side of the fine line.

I will be on their radar anyway, I never use an anonymous name when posting in local newspaper forums etc and I have quite a few cops connected to me on facebook... I would be the least likely suspect as a modern terrorist towards the Government, and it's useful to record incidents, like now, on this forum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I was approached by a PC while photographing the payday loan shops in Barrow-in-Furness (along with the betting shops they’ve pretty much taken over the high street). He said the proprietors didn’t like me taking pictures. Instead of taking his orders from loansharks, I suggested he should just uphold the law. If I was doing something wrong, he could arrest me. If not, I’d carry on. That was the end of the conversation…

How would you handle a shop owner coming out and threatening you?

It's happened twice to me where I live, and I've also had a car pull up with the occupants threatening me (no discussions, just threats) in my city. I've also had very nice civil discussions with people in the same areas.

Sounds like Barrow is like Bradford, pound shops, bookies, pawn shops, charity shops and fast food outlets.

 

 

Mr Plod doesn't have a clue about photographers' rights. Not surprising, I suppose. I've been threatened by shopkeepers. I'm happy to have a chat - with anyone - unless I get a load of abuse. I haven't been beaten up yet... but there's still time... :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a guide issued by the British Security Industry Association that you might find very useful (tried to paste the link here but it wouldn't work for some reason). Oddly their site now says it is only available to members but I downloaded it without problem a few months ago. It's called 'Photography and Hostile Reconnaissance - A guide for BSIA members' - just Googled it and available for download from other sites. Don't know why I can't link to it?

 

Basically security guards have no right to stop you taking photos or private buildings if you are taking them from a public area, they cannot obstruct you and cannot seize cameras, delete images etc. If you're on private property then in fairness that's obviously another question.

 

I think these days security staff have to be vetted by the police (criminal checks etc) so their organisations should stick to this guidance. It was also produced jointly with the Home Office. However, we all know the approach of security staff can vary!

 

The pdf is here: http://www.bsia.co.uk/web_images/publications/form_122.pdf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.