Completely ignoring the guidance given by Chief Constable Andrew Trotter ( Head of ACPO Media Advisory Group ) the police are now running a campaign encouraging the public to report photographers and “let experienced officers decide what action to take”.
Experienced officers? Like the experienced officers who arrested a guy taking picture of Christmas celebrations in Accrington? Like the experienced officers at the G20 summit who beat Ian Tomlinson?
Older readers may remember the IRA campaign of bombing in the UK in the 80s. The IRA were far more successful in bombing England than the current batch of islamists yet the police then did not resort to inducing paranoia in the population and encouraging us all to fear and spy on each other.
The truth is that the natural inclination of anyone who joins an organisation such as the police force will be to govern human behaviour by restricting everything and then allowing action by exception. That is not in accord with democratic values. Democracy requires that everything is allowed unless it is specifically proscribed.
The trouble with this police campaign is it ramps up the pressure. The police claim they will only use power to counter terrorism but we already have evidence that police are using all sorts of excuses to harrass photographers from anti-social behaviour to suspected pedophilia. Those given powers over others always abuse those powers. It’s a rule.
As yet the United Kingdom is not a police state and we do not restrict public photography. We should not allow ourselves to be frightened into giving the police authoritarian powers. Slippery slope and all that.
Art Photography
CPS prosecute man for warning drivers of speed gun
Tags: authoritarian, civil liberties, civil liberty, CPS, Crown Prosecution Service, flashed, Grimsby Magistrates Court at, harassment, Jean Ellerton, Keir Starmer, Michael Thompson, motorists, oppressive, photography, police, Radio 4, speed gun, student demonstrations, terrorism, unaccountable
Prosecuted for flashing his lights
Open Email to Keir Starmer via CPS web site
Sir,
I just heard on Radio 4 that the CPS have prosecuted a driver ( Michael Thompson ) who flashed his lights to warn motorists of a mobile police speed gun. They charged him with wilfully obstructing a police officer in the course of her duties.
This is an outrageous infringement of civil liberties. The speed gun is to catch people who are actually speeding NOT people who may be INTENDING to speed. By flashing his lights Mr Thompson could not have affected anyone who was actually speeding.
More and more the police are taking authoritarian stances and feeling that they are entitled to harass individuals. Often this takes the form of stopping ordinary people taking photographs in public by pretending that there is some terrorism threat.
From the point of view of the general public this clashes dreadfully with the police inability to prosecute their own officers even when they have been photographed in the act of assaulting a member of the public.
I have been critical of police tactics at various demonstrations but had been sympathetic during the recent student demonstrations because of the obvious violent intent of some demonstrators (fire extinguishers etc).
However, incidence such as the prosecution of Mr. Thompson, merely reinforce the negative image of the police as an oppressive organisation who take advantage of their position and are unaccountable to anybody.
I suggest that you remember that you are British officers in a country with a long tradition of civil liberty and not mindless officials from some soviet satellite state.
Stop harassing ordinary people and start effectively disciplining your own officers.
Regards
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I understand from this What’s On Xiamen that the presiding magistrate was Jean Ellerton of Grimsby Magistrates Court.
Why not email them and register your disgust? You could use the text above as a template.
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