In message <ftambm$dbc$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, "(not quite so) Fat Sam"
<samandjanet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes
>If I wanted to take journalistic photos of an event in the UK, what would
I
>need to consider from a legal point of view?
I am NOT a lawyer or legally qualified. Any advice given below is worth
exactly what you paid for it!
1
Not getting caught when taking photos. :-)
2
Read Digital Camera Feb 08. Had a major item on this as appertaining to
UK law as of Feb 2008 . There must be some copies about somewhere or
try their web site
http://www.digitalcameramagazine.co.uk
3
Also see this link to the UK Photographers Rights guide.
http://www.sirimo.co.uk/ukpr.php
4
REMEMBER the police do NOT know the law on photography The PCSO's less
so. YOU MUST SEE THIS LINK
http://current.com/items/88856223_you_can_t_picture_this
and related links on that page.
This was MARCH 2008 in the UK
You might find this of interest, since it sets out the powers of PCSOs:
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-and-publications/publication/commuit
y-policing/List_of_Powers_of_Community1.pdf?view=Binary
http://current.com/items/88856223_you_can_t_picture_this
http://benneh.net/blog/index.php/2008/03/18/account-for-presence
Practically speaking
Remember have at lots of memory cards on you. Swap them often (Ie
when ever you have a few interesting photos) and make sure you give the
used ones to a friend who can get them off site quickly (and come back
for the next one). Ie in to the hand/car or preferably house of some
one who is not going to get arrested. House is best as police etc need
a search warrant.
If it is in the parish hall and in the village get some kids to act as
runners to friends in the closest house. The law on stopping and
searching children is stronger than for adults And if anyone other than
a police person does it there is a news story and probably assault on a
minor etc :-)
Then ASAP send the whole lot to a friend outside the UK. IE outside UK
Jurisdiction BTW to cover yourself send an email explaining these are
for safe keeping/backup only and that they must NOT under any
cir***stances publish. You will of course be mortified to find your
(now ex :-) friend has disregarded your written instructions and
published them :-)
BTW HOST THE SITE OUTSIDE THE UK and get "a friend" to write and upload
all the content. :-) See above.
Bloody difficult to stop some one in another country :-)
The point of this is if you get arrested for any reason during or just
after the event the worse case is you only loose a few photos of the
card in the camera at the time. Have a digital voice recorder on you
and have it running when/it you are accosted. Also for quotes.
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIR***STANCES DELETE THE PHOTOS YOU TAKE. If it IS an
offence they must arrest you in which case the photos are evidence and
must not be destroyed. If they won't arrest you there is no offence and
you don't need to delete them.
Copyright infringement, trespass etc is "see you in court " :-) Again
do not delete photos. It will take months for the court case (if at all)
Also the story of the threat of court action makes them look bad.
BTW I have had front page picture of armed police and well as police at
a march.. (Military freedom of the town no t a protest march) so you can
photograph the police.
>Okay, some background on the event...
>Plans are afoot to dig a whopping great quarry in the heart of the
village
>where I live.
>The villagers are completely opposed to it.
>The parish council say they're opposed, but they don't seem to be doing
>anything very much apart from having closed doors meetings where the
public
>aren't invited.
Can they do that? I think you are permitted to attend and see the
minutes? You need a local Lawyer
>I have established a website to give the villagers a single unified voice
>and bring our plight to the attention of the world.
>Part of running this site will involve publi****ng regular re****ts of
>meetings and things like that.
Ok. So far so good but you know you are asking for trouble. Good Luck
>Now, the parish council have finally called a public meeting in the
village
>hall this coming Saturday, and invited the village to attend.
>I plan to go along with my camera and an MP3 recorder to get photos and
>interview people for the site, and also to get photos and a re****t of the
>meeting.
GOOD. Post the link to it here. (BTW where in the UK is it? )
>I'm anticipating objections to my photographing the parish councillors
and
>the event in general.
>Do they have any right to damand that I stop photographing the event?
No idea. But do invite the local press. If it is a public meeting they
cant stop you being there. However it depends if the property is private
or public.
You need proper UK legal advice. Free advice on the Internet is worth
what you pay for it.
>If they do make this demand, what possible comebacks can I use?
They can throw you out of the meeting (you need some one else to
photograph this inside and out. As it is a good embarrassing story in
it's own right :-)
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIR***STANCES DELETE THE PHOTOS YOU TAKE. If it is an
offence they must arrest you in which case the photos are evidence and
must not be destroyed. If they won't arrest you there is no offence and
you don't need to delete them.
Maybe they can take you to court... which is VERY embarrassing to them.
You NEED proper legal advice.
>Could I get away with telling them that the site is pulling nearly 2000
hits
>a day, and that if they're opposed to the site, then in the spirit of
free
>journalism, I'm left with no option but to publish that as a story on the
>front page,
Whose front page? Yours or the local news paper? BTW As you point out
a well handled re****t of a gagging action and "no photos" and re****ting
restrictions is often far more harmful than them letting you re****t as
the information will always get out in the end. And gaging implies guilt
or at the least somethign to hide.
>and in doing so point out that by taking a stance against a
>website that objects to the quarry, they are in effect taking a stance
>against the feelings and opinions of the entire village?
You can say that.
>The village hall, as I understand it, is a public place...
Not at all... it is owned by someone (even if it is "the village") ...
This is where it gets difficult. The parish council may be able to say
no photos inside at meetings... however you can take pictures of the
closed doors with a list of al the parish councillors who attend the
meeting and suggest people stop them in the street, phone them and write
to them asking what they are doing, fro minutes of the meetings and why
they are not letting the people in. WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE HIDING?
On the other hand as a pari****oner it may be they can't stop you. What
are the laws on Parish councils?
>Does a parish council have the right or power to impose a photography ban
>there?
Possibly. You need a local lawyer and the legal set up of the hall and
the parish council.
BTW doesn't a parish council have a connection with the Church? What
does the Vicar say (and the Bishop) Picture of Bishop saying "nothing to
do with me" and a reference to Pontious Pilot wa****ng his hands :-)
Have fun with it. As I have indicated tactics and strategy are at
least as im****tant as the law.
BTW where in the UK Is this? I expect there are a few budding photo
journalists on here who would love to help. Not your fault if people
you have never seen before turn up and photograph events and then
publish:-)
We seem to have lost far to much democracy in the UK over the last
decade or two.
--
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
\/\/\/\/\ Chris Hills Staffs England /\/\/\/\/
/\/\/ chris@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.phaedsys.org \/\/\
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
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