Early Day Motion started in Parliament regarding street photography (UK)

Why would a terrorist go around attracting attention to themselves with a Giant lens and camera? Would it not make more sense to be unobtrusive with a small P&S or camera phone? Some of them can take quite good pictures, and with enough pictures Im sure you get get whatever detail you need.

I am a firm believer in a minimal government. The amount of surveillance in Great Britain and more generally Europe is appalling. I know the US is headed that way and it frightens me.

Ive written to my mp regarding this too, his signatory is not yet on the EDM, but i am currently yet to recieve a reply

Done I've written to my MP.

Pete wrote in post #5106444
This petition will be rejected.

The government/police/anti​-terrorism branch have recently started a public campaign asking for assistance in reporting suspiscious looking people taking pictures of public places.

As draconian as this might seem to people, this is something that needs to be done to combat terrorism.

As I've said before on a similar thread. I would welcome being stopped and questioned by a police officer about what I was doing. The alternative (someone freely taking pictures so that they can be used in planning a terrorist attack) to too horrendous to comprehend.

For the record, I was a witness to one of the Tube bombs going off. It's a sight and experience that I never want to go through again.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with this, there are tens of thousands of cctv cameras in London covering everyone's movements all the time. Why wasn't there the same hysteria during all the years of the IRA bombings? If I wanted to take covert pictures of something I intended to attack I would do it with a mobile phone while pretending to text. This is more hysteria being added to the climate of fear the government likes to keep us in.

Its kind of bizzare in the UK where the state watches everyone on the street without there permission. Yet the general Public are harassed about taking pictures of public places?

:S

My friend summed the current state of the country quite well.

We must be the only liberal facists ever!
We must be green and care for the enviroment, but get a camera out and then you get questioned by the police!

The police are at it again.

http://www.holdthefron​tpage.co.uk/photo/0803​04cops.shtml

The EDM and matter of writing to the 'local' MP asking that he agrees to it or at least as a concerned constituent says why he may disagree with is very interesting for one primary reason.

There has been a long tradition of MPs being very skilled amateur photographers with Denis Healey being one that I recall being published. I wonder what these MPs think of the current state of Police knowledge in the matter and indeed how many newer/younger MPs are like their forebears, photographers?

The point as read it of the EDM is to make sure that photographers (those with "serious" cameras???) are not made to feel guilty or be vilified for simply doing what they enjoy. The EDM is designed to ensure that all Police and connected individuals know the law and the extent of any enforcement of it that they have powers to excercise.

Pete says that he would be content to be challeged and his view was diametrically 'opposed'. Suffice to say IMO if the "officers" behaved with an accurate interpretation of the law both views would be covered properly.

As for the recently reported poster campaign for London policing & suspect behaviour reporting ~ that has shades of paranoia and echoes of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the Stasi in Eastern Europe encourging "reporting" neighbours........etc.

The lowest common denominator is being promoted i.e. if "you" think it is odd then tell the police but what is more odd, for example a person with a dSLR taking a picture of Tower Bridge or foreign looking tourists taking pictures of each other on P&S or camera phones with the MI5 building in the background - imagine any number of scenarios....the mind boggles.

Which ones are suspicious and which ones are innocent??? Who is the judge and how is the bobby on the beat supposed to make the arbitrating decision if they as the EDM & various reports infer have a limited understanding of the law pertaining to using a camera in a public place.

Right off my soapbox now

PS I very rarely take "street photos" but this was in Italy and very much a crop from a grab shot. Would this be deemed suspicious? This officer and his colleague stopped a street vendor and he was chewing him out ~ I called the image "Listen to me"

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If your MP's name isn't on this list:
http://edmi.parliament​.uk …x?EDMID=35375&S​ESSION=891
Then does that mean he isn't supporting it?

Maybe I need to harangue him some more!

Done......... Waiting on his reply without too much hope though, he keeps his head down does our man.

Oh .......... Pete, I'm ex-forces and have seen the results of terrorism the world over, this is NOT the way to go about it. If anything we should be encouraging it (photography), it gives the bad buggers less places to hide

I wrote to mine last week about this on theyworkforyou.com, but haven't heard back yet and her name isn't on the list

That being said...the list of names on there is 3-4 times longer than it was last week so that's got to be a good sign

Pete wrote in post #5106444
As draconian as this might seem to people, this is something that needs to be done to combat terrorism.

LMAO

Yeah, because you need photos to blow things up.

Gimmie a break.

Google maps and Flikr.....

Terrorists don't care about aperture, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, motion blur, depth of focus, the sunny-16 rule, or pixel size. Why the hell would they use something as obvious as an SLR?!

The relevant authorities berating photographers can kiss my sweet ar$e.

Done ......... sent to my MP thanks for the info