Earlier this month, as reported by BJP, Jerome Taylor, a journalist for The Independent newspaper was stopped while taking a picture of the House of Parliament at night. The officers used Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 as a justification for the stop. The event prompted Taylor to contact BJP enquiring about the frequency of such stops.

In the past two years, hundreds of photographers have reported similar incidents. The surge in stop-and-search prompted BJP to launch the Not A Crime campaign, in a bid to raise awareness for photographers' right to street photography.

Last week, Taylor appeared on BBC One to debate with Andy Trotter of the Association of Chief Police Officers. Following the debate, Trotter issued a message to all chief constables in England and Wales advising that not to use terror powers to stop people from taking pictures.

'Officers and Police Community Support Officers are reminded that we should not be stopping and searching people for taking photos,' the message reads. 'There are very clear rules around how stop-and-search powers can be used. However, there are no powers prohibiting the taking of photographs, film or digital images in a public place. Therefore members of the public and press should not be prevented from doing so.'

Trotter adds: 'We need to co-operate with the media and amateur photographers. They play a vital role as their images help us identify criminals.'

'However,' he continues, 'unnecessarily restricting photography, whether from the casual tourist or professional is unacceptable and worse still, it undermines public confidence in the police service.'

The National Union of Journalists, which has been in discussion with the Metropolitan Police for the past three years regarding the use of the powers against photographers, has welcomed Trotter's message, with caveats. 'We welcome ACPO's decision, as it recognises the ridiculous extent to which police harass photographers under this law,' freelance organiser John Toner tells BJP. 'However, the real issue is whether chief police officers succeed in conveying the message to the officers on the ground. We would like to know how ACPO's message will be incorporated into police training.'

In previous months, both the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office have released guidelines on the use of Section 44 and street photography. However, it remains unclear whether these guidelines have been relayed to officers on the grounds. The Metropolitan Police has told BJP it has no plan to reissue the guidelines. The Home Office guidelines were sent to all chief constables, with specific instructions to inform all police officers of their existence.

BJP has filed Freedom of Information Act requests with all constabularies to confirm that the guidelines have been properly communicated to all forces. Our comprehensive report will be released in the coming weeks.