You've Been Framed
The picture above comes from a Metropolitan Police ad campaign on the London Underground published nationally. 'Thousands' of people is an understatement; over 2 billion pictures have been posted to to photo-sharing website Flickr alone. Given the ubiquity of camera phones, it's doubtful that there's a square inch of public space in the UK not documented somewhere on someone's hard drive, website or memory stick.
So is this a golden age for British street photography? Not according to the amateur photographers and bloggers who have been setting the, er, photogosphere alight with stories of detentions, cautions and forced deletions of their pictures by police officers, PCSOs and wardens. Labour MP Austin Mitchell filed an Early Day Motion last month condemning police actions that prevent lawful street photography and calling for clarification of the law. It's attracted over 150 signatures in the Commons.
Photography in public places is perfectly legal, but anti-terrorism and child protection legislation have muddied the waters somewhat and according to Mitchell, may have given those enforcing the law a misleading impression of what is and isn't allowed.
The video below has been making the rounds online this week. It shows a Middlesbrough man apparently being detained by security guards outside a shopping centre, after taking pictures in the street. As the photographer describes the event:
A policewomen was radioed and came over to question the two suspects ( the total detaining us had risen to seven, a large crowd had now gathered) The detaining guard released me, i asked the policewoman if my friend and i could be taken away from the six guards, she motioned us to a nearby seat and told all the security people to go. She took our details, name, address, date of birth etc. She wanted to check my camera saying it was unlawful to photograph people in public, i told her this was rubbish.
The video only shows the initial confrontation with a shopping centre security guard, but does give a sense of the misunderstandings many street photographers face.
We're keen to do something on this issue - but I wonder if there's a good iPM treatment that wouldn't simply retread old ground. The claim that these incidents are on the increase is so far anecdotal and untested, so we briefly considered crowdsourcing it (like our broadband story in the previous run). But whilst a Google map of arrested iPM listeners might be compelling to look at, it's not quite what we're after...
So we're throwing it open to you. Any ideas that could shed some light on the phenomenon? Is there some way we could verify the apparent increase in incidents like these?
Or do you have experiences of your own to share? Are you a Police Officer, Community Support Officer or security guard with your own take on the issue? Let us know in the comments, or email us at ipm {at} bbc.co.uk.
UPDATE: Mark Whitaker emails to tell us about the Manchester Flickr group he runs, on which numerous photographers are sharing stories of being moved on, "politely or otherwise."
UPDATE: Here's a long version of the interview we did with Austin Mitchell MP. We also spoke to Mark Whitaker and to Peter Smythe, who chairs the Metropolitan Police Federation.
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Comments
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There is a tendency on the part of photographers to indulge in a us VS. them mentality. The rights of UK citizens and the comparative moderation (and community orientation) of UK police are (rightly) the envy of people from many countries across the globe.
Photographers need to show a proper respect for authorities --- which means accepting that they need to engage with authority figures, be prepared to explain their activities and so on. Millions of tourists and youngsters with mobile phones are taking photos in public places. The people who are going to attract the attention of the authorities are those who show display a kind of interest in picture taking that goes beyond the casual and frivolous. If one has a more serious interest in picture taking one ought to be prepared to give an account of this interest.
If one were observing others for purposes of poetry or fiction no clash of interest could arise. The power of modern image-recording devices --- digital cameras and video recorders --- means that ones observations have potentially more serious outcomes. One needs to square up to the responsibility that goes with that new power and be prepared to give an account of oneself.
I have had several encounters with the police and community support officers. By far the majority of these have been positive encounters ... with only one or two that were initially a bit uncomfortable. I am quite well known to several of my local police and other authorities after carrying out an 18-month project in the city centre (documented at www.briggate.com). But I have really grown to appreciate the role of the police and other security personnel (bouncers, mainly) during the last 9 months documenting night life on the streets of Leeds (see http://headrow.wordpress.com
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I blogged about this subject and someone commented: "Austin Mitchell is my local MP and if you saw the way in which he took his pictures you would object too..."
(see the full comment on http://www.grannybuttons.com/granny_buttons/2008/04/mps-edm-for-fre.html#comment-111329812 )
The upshot, he implied, was that Austin M is a bad spokesman for the right to photograph in public.
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I have been taking photographs for more than 40 years. I am a keen photographer of railways - I'm interested in them and its what I do for a job. About three months ago I was taking a photograph and was approached by a member of staff and asked to stop taking photographs.
I'm clued up on the why's and wherefore's of this and politely told the person that I was doing it for interest, I could prove who I was and that I was doing it safely and without affecting any operations or safety of the railway or the station, I would be happy to sign any safety disclaimer if I was pointed in the direction of the administration. I also indicated that the train operating companies and Network Rail had indicated it wasn't a problem widely after 9/11 and other incidents.
They indicated that it was a security concern. OK I give up - if it keeps you happy I'll stop taking here and go elsewhere - which I did.
The said staff member might have been a bit of a "jobsworth" but it could equally have been a real security concern. If so someone alert with a camera could have provided valuable evidence if an incident had happened. I suspect that they had received little or no training. The ad is creating a false paranoia and confusion among ill-trained staff.
The matter needs to be kept high so that it filters down that photography is illegal and photography is allowed.
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But Briggate, why does one have to explain 'a more serious interest in picture taking'? Why can't we just take photos for no reason in particular other than the joy of taking them? Like going for a drive nowhere in particular...
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Sorry, last line of my post should have said not - NOT illegal.
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Last month I saw two community police officers stop a young woman outside the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank and make her produce identification. It was night time and her camera was mounted on a short tripod, pointed in the direction of Hungerford bridge, with the London Eye in the background. She was a tourist and seemed shocked by what was happening. I asked them what she was doing wrong - and said she deserved to be able to take pictures in public unmolested. One of the officers used terrorism legislation to justify his actions and said the area was "high security". However, when pressed, he said that the woman needed to be approached "for her protection" because she was "vulnerable" and was using expensive equipment in public. So it seems she had strangely metamorphosed from a potential terrorist to a damsel in distress. I asked the officers if they'd been instructed to stop all people using cameras on tripods and they said no, they used their discretion.
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I see that Chris Austin, MP, is trying to get a "delegation" of photographers in to meet Tony McNulty, the Home Office Minister, to press for photographers rights to take pictures in public places unchallenged by the Police.
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I have been stopped twice when I have been using my camera in public. The first time was in 2005 when Iwas attempting to photograph a rather stunning sunrise from my seat on the train between Basingstoke and Waterloo. The conductor ran down the carriage and ordered me to stop, then told me he was confiscating my camera as it was illegal to take photographs from trains. I refused to give him my camera and asked exactly which part of the law stated that. He could not answer this, but became physically aggressive and tried to grab my camera. At this point two men in the carriage told him he was being an unreasonable idiot and to leave me alone. There was a very unpleasant argument and he finally left, threatening me with arrest by the British Transport police at Waterloo (this did not happen) as I was apparently a 'risk' to national security.
The second was last year in the city of London, where I was approached by someone who claimed to be a security guard from a building that I had just photographed. This man was not in uniform and had no identification to confirm his claim. He attempted to confiscate my camera as well. I explained that I had been photographing an architecturally interesting building and made it very clear that I knew the law and my rights, and if he attempted to touch me that would be a physical assault and taking my camera would be theft. He lfinally walked away muttering 'well don't do it again without asking my permission first'.
Anecdotal I know, but all true.
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I've also been "questioned" when taking photographs... last year while taking photographs of a new shopping centre under construction in Corby - sat on a bicycle on a public right of way - I was asked by somebody in a hard hat what I was doing and why.
I also know somebody who had a similar experience in Hull a couple of years ago while taking photos in the city centre, the same day we were both attending an Ice Hockey game at the local rink and we were told that photography was not allowed due to "concerns about child abuse"... funny thing is that this was an adult game!
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