The Metropolis

The continuing war against terrorism (or rather photographers)

Michael Preston | Monday 17 May, 2010 10:35

Under a new Metropolitan Police initiative, Project Griffin various police forces, including the Met and the City of London, are now encouraging “individuals or groups responsible for the safety and security of buildings, businesses, districts or neighbourhoods” to “deter, detect and counter terrorist activity and crime.”

On the face of it this is an admirable aim that we should all support. However when the product is, in effect, non-police officer types harassing genuine photographers, you have to question whether this is truly about terrorism or just an excuse for police officer wannabes (who may on occasion be working as security guards) to exert and abuse their authority.)

Sadly this how now reached the point where a photographer, when telling a Police Community Support Officer that she was taking the photos for fun, was told flatly, “You’re filming for fun? I don’t believe you.” The photographer in question was then, moments later arrested, held in a cell for several hours and then fined for causing harassment, alarm and distress in a public place.

The charge levelled at her for the seemingly innocent activity of taking photographs, does ask the question, what other innocent activities might provoke alarm and and distress in a public place. Would kicking a ball for example be interpreted as an attempt to trigger an explosive device?

This kind of perverse manipulation of the law is not unique to London police officers, or to Britain itself, but it would be nice if we could, just for once, get to a point where the law was used to protect us rather than to control us.

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