Press photographer forced to delete images
A press photographer, Carmen Valino, was forced to delete images of a crime scene after a police sergeant argued that she was disrupting an investigation despite being behind a police cordon
Author: Olivier Laurent
03 Aug 2010 Tags: Street rightsMetropolitan policeNational union of journalists
According to the National Union of Journalists and the Union's London Photographers' Branch, member Carmen Valino was photographing a crime scene from outside a police cordon while on assignment for the Hackney Gazette when she was approached by a police sergeant.
Despite identifying herself as a press photographer, the police sergeant told Valino that she was disrupting a police investigation and ordered her to hand over her camera. "After protesting to the Sergeant that she was in a public place, outside the cordon he had no right to take her camera, he grabbed her wrist and pulled out his handcuffs. Before he could put the cuffs on she handed him her camera," says the NUJ. "He then left for five minutes before coming back, bringing Valino inside the cordon and asking her to show him the images and deleting them. Valino was told that she could come back in a few hours to photograph the scene."
The incident has prompted a call by the Union's general secretary for police officers to respect media guidelines issue by the Association of Chief Police Officers. "The abuse of the law must stop," says Jeremy Dear. "There is a gulf between photographers' legal rights and the current practices of individual police officers. The police should uphold the law, not abuse it – photographers acting in the public interest deserve better."
The ACPO media guidelines were drafted and agreed by numerous photographers' organisations and representatives of the ACPO. They state that members of the media "have a duty to report many of those things that we have to deal with - crime, demonstrations, accidents, major events and incidents," and that police officers "have no legal power or moral responsibility to prevent or restrict what they record." The guidelines also state that, in relation to photographs, officers have "no power to delete or confiscate them without a court order."
A spokeswoman for Hackney Police has yet to return BJP's calls for comment.
Comments
it is usually quite easy to rescue images that have been deleted from an SD or compact flash card.
If the photo is an important one stop shooting on that card and just use software to rescue the image.
Now you have alerted the police to our ability to retrieve deleted images we will be required to hand over our memory cards.
Well thought out!
Sounds like the police sergeant had nothing better to do. He has no right asking for pics to be deleted, as long as the TOG was outside the police line at all times, and not being a pain,(keepin a low profile) even if a body was on the ground and in view it is down to the police to move the line back or cover the scene. Thought for snapper's. If there is no exclusive picture on scene when you arrive and you can hold fire on shooting, then say hello to a police officer, break the ice introduce yourself, you might be surprised what happens if you take control from the start.
Police are paid too much and have too little to do
Most police officers really have nothing better to do but to hassle photographers and cyclists. Yes I am both. When I was hit by a car but not hurt, they did nothing. When my flat was broken into, nothing went missing but I told they I knew what those guys were, they did nothing. When I was attacked in the middle of the night, they did nothing. But when I cycle through green light changing to yellow, they stop me. When WE ARE LEGALLY TAKING PHOTO IN TO PUBLIC, THEY TREAT US AS TERRORISTS.
By the way, the first comment, we all know what technology can do and how easy it is to retrieve the images, but this is not the point, is it?
@jay
perhaps you can redact my comment?
@P
As a cyclist of many years, a good way to save £30 is to just say:
"Yes officer, No officer." Then like as not they'll let you off; as soon as you argue the toss they give you a ticket. And being ever so contrite helps too.
G's advice is good ie making human contact; though in some circumstances this isn't possible, eg demos, then you need to keep your wits about you.
I hope the Police keep it up. It will not be long before they have these powers taken away totally by the European court as did customs when they overstepped the mark on personal imports of tobacco and began confiscating peoples cars.
The average digital shooter knows software exists to rescue deleted images.
Don't you think the police know of this too?
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