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The strange case of Harry's pothead foe...

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8161154.stm

Sorry had to be done :D

So the actor who plays Vincent Crabbe has pleaded guilty to Cannabis cultivation, got a community sentence (120 hours community service).

What I am worried about is that (if the reporting was correct) he was arrested for taking a photograph of the police - which led them to seize and inspect the camera.

So this law now appears to be another situation in which anyone holding a camera in the vicinity of a police officer could be at risk of arrest.

If the reporting is inaccurate, and they were stopped for other reasons, then fine. But taking a photograph of a public servant in a public place is now criminal.

Vague, broad and severe powers I find worrying.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I wouldnt realy trust the story that much considering two adjacent paragraphs read as follows.
    He was arrested after police found pictures of the plants on his camera.

    Police seized the camera after he was arrested for taking a picture of officers as he and his friend John Innis, 20, drove past, the court was told.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    sorry I must be missing something - how do those paragraphs contradict each other or otherwise indicate discrepancy?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Police are now using anti-Terror powers in everyday Policing

    [mistaken Post _ New Thread Started].
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    [mistaken Post _ New Thread Started].

    Whatever your feelings on the new law, it's there. If you're going to take photos of cops in London (especially) you're going to get some suspicious glances. When they do look at your camera and find photos of a cannabis grow then like on the other thread about privacy, you're an idiot for having them there.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Second part of the comment I agree with, but the 'whatever your feelings' comment is exactly the kind of dismissal that allows ridiculous legislation to run rough shod over civil liberties, and which contravenes the National Policing Improvement Agency's own guidance;
    However, the Met's guidance, which has been criticised by human rights lawyers and the National Union of Journalists, has not been endorsed by the Home Office, which is drafting its own legal advice for police.

    The Met's guidance is different to that issued by the National Policing Improvement Agency, which specifically advises that "officers do not have a legal power to delete images or destroy film", and suggests that, while digital images might be viewed during a search, officers "should not normally attempt to examine them".

    So I don't think the idea that we as citizens are responsible for the Police abusing powers designed ostensibly to fight terrorism is really a tenable argument.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Can you be arrested twice at the same time?

    It said he was arrested for one thing, then for another.

    Surely if you are arrested for one thing, you would then be charged with another once you get to the station. Yes its being pedantic, but it should be right.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Shit, I've just posted a reply on the other thread about this very issue.

    I swear this thread wasn't here when I started to compose my post... :mad:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MrG wrote: »
    Can you be arrested twice at the same time?

    It said he was arrested for one thing, then for another.

    Surely if you are arrested for one thing, you would then be charged with another once you get to the station. Yes its being pedantic, but it should be right.

    You can be "further arrested" for any other offences that come to light. This can be done anywhere. If you get stopped in the street and found in posession of a knife for instance you'll be arrested there and then.
    If one the journey back a rock of crack falls out your pants then you'll be done for that too.

    Martin, I really hope the home office hurry up and issue the guidance. The MET are making us all look bad. My force issued us with little cards with the whens, wheres and whys of dealing with photographers in conjunction with the NUJ.
    The first bullet point basically states that photographers have a right to be there. The only power we have to move them is if they're in the middle of a crime scene or if their presence is causing harassment/alarm/distress to someone.
    Even then the guidance stipulates that you remain polite/profesional, explain your reasoning behind it ie.taking photos of a person's remains or a car accident with people trapped isn't appropriate, especially if the family are about to see you and decide to smash your face in e.t.c. e.t.c.

    I do believe though, that the law will remain, regardless of how we feel about it. What is important is to ensure that it is used properly. ie on people who could actually be a terrorist. I do believe the idea behind it is that if you raid a house and find loads of pictures of cops, that's when you arrest. Or if you're in special branch and the taking of photos is a course of action (perhaps following cops around and standing outside police stations and getting car number plates e.t.c.)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If your stupid enough to take pictures of the police with a camera that pictures of incrimating drug production....
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Jonny8888 wrote: »
    If your stupid enough to take pictures of the police with a camera that pictures of incrimating drug production....

    Why should the police have any right to seize your camera in the first place?
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