Tag Archives: police

UK Photographers – Have You Got Your Photography License?

By DSLRBlog Editors | Published November 3, 2008

No? You haven’t got your photography license?

Oh dear.

Then Middlesborough police want a word with you …

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Top Ten Things NOT Safe To Photograph

By DSLRBlog Editors | Published September 22, 2006

Wow did this guy have a stroke of bad luck. Fotolia CEO Detained by Police for Taking Pictures

Early afternoon in Paris today, Fotolia CEO Thibaud Elziere was out for a walk and testing the new Nikon D80 digital camera. However, one image would change the rest of his day.Walking down the Rue Vaneau in Paris, Thibaud captured an image of a CCTV camera [...] Within minutes, Thibaud was approached by the French Police and detained for the better part of the day.

Unknown to Thibaud he had captured the CCTV camera of the French Prime Minister’s personal residence and caused a great security concern. According to Thibaud, there were no signs or warnings about photography in the area. A simple click and his day was ruined.

The police questioned him about what he was doing in the area, if he had any terrorism connections, about his work, and why he would want to take a picture of a CCTV camera. Thibaud relates that his first answer of “taking pictures for fun” did not satisfy them. He soon outlined his connection with Fotolia and testing the camera. After 8 hours of questioning and background checks, they returned his camera and escorted him home.

It seems from what I read in the article this could have happened to any one of us. You take a picture of a building, for whatever reason, next thing you know you are being questioned by policemen about if you have any terrorist connections. What can you do, stop taking pictures of houses?

We are increasingly being warned not to take pictures of anything (or anyone) which might be construed by the paranoid as a terrorist threat but how was he supposed to know this was the home of someone important without any signs or notices. Just CCTV present does not necessarily imply that the resident is someone of national or defense importance, the guy might have an expensive car etc.

So now we have a new entry in the top ten things you can’t safely photograph

  1. Underground/Tube/Buses
  2. Refineries or other Industrial plant
  3. Police
  4. Government buildings
  5. Bridges
  6. Tunnels
  7. Shopping malls
  8. Airports
  9. Office Buildings
  10. Houses

Have I missed any?

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Photography and the Law: Arrested for snapping a Policeman

By DSLRBlog Editors | Published July 31, 2006

Yet another worrying event in the ongoing “law versus photographer” trend. The latest reported by Thomas Hawk is a guy who was arrested for taking a photograph of a policeman making an arrest …

Cruz, 21, told the NBC 10 Investigators that police arrested him last Wednesday for taking a picture of police activity with his cell phone. Cruz said police told him that he broke a new law that prohibits people from taking pictures of police with cell phones. “They threatened to charge me with conspiracy, impeding an investigation, obstruction of a investigation. … They said, ‘You were impeding this investigation.’ (I asked,) “By doing what?’ (The officer said,) ‘By taking a picture of the police officers with a camera phone,’” Cruz said. Cruz’s parents, who got him out of jail, said police told them the same thing.”

This is very worrying, society needs to know that the Police are accountable and that means the ability for a citizen to make documentary evidence. I just hope it is a one-off bad judgment by an individual police officer and not policy.

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