The Voice has covered various stories about people being questioned by the police for taking photos. So here’s the guidance from the National Policing Improvement Agency* from their 2008 guide, Stop and Search in Relation to Terrorism:
The Terrorism Act 2000 does not prohibit people from taking photographs or digital images in an area where an authority under section 44 is in place. Officers should not prevent people taking photographs unless they are in an area where photography is prevented by other legislation.
If officers reasonably suspect that photographs are being taken as part of hostile terrorist reconnaissance, a search under Section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000 or an arrest should be considered. Film and memory cards may be seized as part of the search, but officers do not have a legal power to delete images or destroy film. Although images may be viewed as part of a search, to preserve evidence when cameras or other devices are seized, officers should not normally attempt to examine them. Cameras and other devices should be left in the state they were found in and forwarded to appropriately trained staff for forensic examination. The person being searched should never be asked or allowed to turn the device on or off because of the danger of evidence being lost or damaged.
Quoting the last sentence might be fun if you are filming, asked by the police to stop and say that you’d like to film them questioning you…
* If you’ve not heard of them before, their guidance, “Is commissioned by ACPO or the Home Office and is produced primarily to assist practitioners by promoting good practice … Practice Advice is a discretionary tool for chief officers as it identifies good practice. It may, however, underpin HMIC inspection frameworks and, therefore, chief officers may be accountable to HMIC if they do not follow it.”
Follow @libdemvoice.org on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
Knaptoft: The very heart of England
We do have a two-tier policing system but it is not what our homegrown racists think it is.
From Norman settlement to a civic square
Tom Arms
Ruth Bright
Tom Bailey
Alex Macfie
5 Comments
This is an increasing problem in town and city centres in New Labour’s Britain. The loss of civil liberties – which Labour calls “nonsense” – now regularly results in the police harassing visitors and tourists taking photos in popular areas. I know this – I am the councillor for Bristol city centre and I have been contacted several times about it by very angry citizens.
By following New Labour’s hysterical “terror” agenda, the police are risking creating a generation of citizens who seem them as part of the problem, not part of the solution.
I asked a traffic warden this question in Aberaeron and she said “We have a right to privacy just like anyone else!”
Hold on a minute. What’s this about the document being commissioned by ACPO? Does that mean ACPO paid for the research and guidance?
In case anyone is unaware of the status of ACPO, it’s just a private members club with the same legal status as a golf club. From http://www.acpo.police.uk/about.html
“The Association has the status of a private company limited by guarantee. As such, it conforms to the requirements of company law and its affairs are governed by a Board of Directors.
It is funded by a combination of a Home Office grant, contributions from each of the 44 Police Authorities, membership subscriptions and by the proceeds of its annual exhibition.
ACPO’s members are police officers who hold the rank of Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable or Assistant Chief Constable, or their equivalents, in the forty four forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, national police agencies and certain other forces in the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, and certain senior non-police staff. There are presently 280 members of ACPO.”
ACPO is not a democratic organisation, is not accountable and should not be considered as an official body (because, by its own constitution, it isn’t). News reports consistently fail to mention this and insufficiently analyse its PR. It’s also nice to know that ACPO policy may be determined on the votes of police and no-police staff from the the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, which aren’t governed by UK law.
By contrast, the NPIA is a quango with official status. Its relationship with ACPO is thus questionable.
Speaking of getting in trouble for taking pictures, does anyone know what was going on with this story? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8153908.stm I was suprised nobody piped up about the manner of his arrest, although I guess I don’t know the full story.
UK photographers may find the following article helpful.
http://www.sirimo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ukphotographersrights-v2.pdf