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Uh-Oh!!
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Looks like it’s finally happened. Terrorist groups have been caught filming potential targets around London as long ago as July 2008. This is the ammunition every community warden and policeman had been using for their aggressive stance towards photographers.
We’re now part of a terrorist suspect group.
Alan
Thanks for posting the link to the article, Alan.
irishwonkafan wrote:
Looks like it’s finally happened. Terrorist groups have been caught filming potential targets around London as long ago as July 2008. This is the ammunition every community warden and policeman had been using for their aggressive stance towards photographers.
true, though the article clearly says that the device used for the target-scouting operation by these suspects (none were convicted of terrorism related offences) was a mobile phone, not a camera.
What are they going to do? Stop every single person who snaps a picture with his/her mobile while walking down the road, or “just” prohibit any kind of photography in all public places? Even if they thought about proposing anything like that, I think it would be a waste of time and effort (maybe I’m wrong, but as far as I know no terrorist has ever been captured because he was taking pictures at potential targets).
At the end of the article, the London police head of counter-terrorism says: “We want to set a balance between the challenges of policing and legitimate photography by tourists and the media.” (ahem…what about photographers? :)) Good luck with that!!
How are they going to do that? Are they going to ban mobile phones?Looks like the terrorists win again. Maybe Obama should send 30’000 photographers to Afganistan as a counter-terrorism move instead of troops. Plenty of shooters. :lol: :lol: We might even get a nice portrait of Osama Bin Laden.
true, though the article clearly says that the device used for the target-scouting operation by these suspects (none were convicted of terrorism related offences) was a mobile phone, not a camera.
Sorry…it was a device to capture images by people believed to be part of a terrorist group…it doesn’t take much for the Police to act and assume and this gives them some reason to justify their actions. That was my point. It isn’t a DSLR touting separatist with an “L” lens…but it’s good enough.
irishwonkafan wrote:
Sorry…it was a device to capture images by people believed to be part of a terrorist group…it doesn’t take much for the Police to act and assume and this gives them some reason to justify their actions. That was my point. It isn’t a DSLR touting separatist with an “L” lens…but it’s good enough.
Alan, I apologize if I seemed to belittle the gravity of such a situation. I’m well aware of the problems too many photographers have had because of that kind of attitude. The point I was trying to make is that it’s become some sort of a joke: how long before a policeman stops someone in the middle of a street just because his or her mobile phone is capable of taking pictures?
I’ve never been stopped or harrassed while I was living in Rome, but it happened to be abroad: a policeman came to me, asked me what i was doing, i politely replied, and he let me be, and it happened me twice. I saw no problem with that. If they had beaten me and taken away I know I’d have other things to say about this matter. I’m sure many others haven’t been that lucky and have been harrassed way more than I was.
What strikes me as odd (or pathetic) is that bit at the end of the article, “We want to set a balance between the challenges of policing and legitimate photography by tourists and the media”. The question is how in the world are they going to do that, because frankly I can’t see a realistic way to do such a thing.I agree francesco…it is silly. I’ve seen it written elsewhere that the only hint of terrorist groups recording target areas by means of photography was in the film making industry…Hollywood, etc. This is the first tangible report of possible recording in reality.
Martin Parr reckons it’s only a matter of time that photographing in public places will have distinct restrictions.Alan
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