Best practice"

[Annie_W]

Have just received my "Newsletter" and came across
www.londonfreelance.org/photo/guidelines.html.
it made for interesting reading.
Annie

[BarryM]

Members of the media have a duty to take photographs and film incidents and we have no legal power or moral responsibility to prevent or restrict what they record. It is a matter for their editors to control what is published or broadcast, not the police. Once images are recorded, we have no power to delete or confiscate them without a court order, even if we think they contain damaging or useful evidence.


Thats a very interesting one considering ive heard people say they had to delete files etc at a situation by the police.

[tonymidd]

Members of the media have a duty to take photographs and film incidents and we have no legal power or moral responsibility to prevent or restrict what they record. It is a matter for their editors to control what is published or broadcast, not the police. Once images are recorded, we have no power to delete or confiscate them without a court order, even if we think they contain damaging or useful evidence.


Thats a very interesting one considering ive heard people say they had to delete files etc at a situation by the police.


I've had this request more than once and always from a PC. When told 'OK fine I'll do that at the station in front of and at the request of a senior officer' all but one backed down. At the station I had an apology from an inspector, the explanation being 'the rules are complicated, can't blame the PC who was just trying to do his job' to which I agreed. Not a bad cup of coffee if I remember right.
One London WPC once told me it was against the law to photograph an officer doing their duty....it was in Covent Garden and she was moving a puppet show that I'd been photographing, so when she turned up I just carried on snapping away.
The one time I did hand over film was at Upper Heyford at the cruise missile demonstrations, when I was detained by USAF military police. You don't argue with those chaps. They processed the film and returned it with a set of 10x8's all stamped 'declassified' :Dm :Dm

That info in the news letter is very interesting, think I'll print it out and keep a copy in my bag.....you never know. Even tho' I don't have a press card there is quite a lot in there which applies to anyone doing a bit of freelancing.

[BarryM]

i didnt think that the usaf military police could or would have had any rights to detain you considering they are operating form another country. Another case of " they do what they want" i reckon.

[tonymidd]

i didnt think that the usaf military police could or would have had any rights to detain you considering they are operating form another country. Another case of " they do what they want" i reckon.

Baz when there are two of them 6'+ built like Sherman tanks and armed with Colt 45 automatics you don't argue. I suppose technically we were breaking several security laws including the restrictions on photography around the base, maybe even trespassing even tho we were on the roadside verge.
We also clashed with the law at Greenham Common, another Cruise missile base, when photographing the protesting women. Both bases were very sensitive issues at the time and both governments and military were edgy to say the least.

http://www.greenhamwpc.org.uk/

[lostmysnorkel]

Yeah, while we all have teh right to photograph what we see in a pulic place, there are sertain places deemed 'sensitive' by teh autorities and have restrictions placed on them.

Basically, anything to do with 'National Security' or military installations. In the Greenham ommon case, or any USAF base in the UK, they operate under US law within the base, much the same as Embassies. It's considered US soil.

By the way, I have turned off the spam filter and everything, but i still haven't received my newsletter!

[tonymidd]

A bit of common sense being applied, the last para is interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6935012.stm

[lostmysnorkel]

Yup, about time the celebs began to realise one simple fact:

If you want it kept private, then don't do it in public!