The Metropolitan Police still don't understand that photography is not a crime

I have blogged before about various incidents that have taken place between the Metropolitan Police and journalists before and unfortunately, despite ACPO issuing guidance for police officers, it appears some of them cannot read or perhaps it is the case they don't want to.

It states "Members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel."

It goes on to say under both Sections 43 and 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, that "Officers do not have the power to delete digital images or destroy film at any point during a search."

My previous blog posts are Is photography the new crime? and Photography as a crime rears its head again if you want to read them.

From the National Union of Journalists website today;

NUJ member and photographer Carmen Valino has been threatened with arrest and forced to delete images.


Carmen Valino had images deleted from her camera by police and was threatened with arrest whilst photographing the scene of a shooting in Hackney, East London.

The incident happened on Saturday 31 July as Valino photographed a crime scene from outside the police cordon whilst on assignment from the Hackney Gazette.

She had identified herself as a journalist and showed her UK Press Card to the police.


A police Sergeant approached Valino telling her that she was disrupting a police investigation and 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. 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.

This incident highlights how police are still not following the law or the agreed ACPO Media Guidelines as highlighted at the top of this post.

Surely at some point this has to stop, the police have got to stop abusing their powers and perhaps now it is the time for the IPCC to investigate?

Tories to slash 455 police officers and cut £16million from police force budget

I don't ever recall during the 2008 London Mayoral election campaign Boris Johnson pledging police cuts, in fact if anything, completely the opposite and yet this week as the Met police budgets were set, Boris is slashing police numbers.

Cameron's Conservative London Mayor, Boris John will slash 455 police officers across London and cut a massive £16million from the Metropolitan Police budget.

Boris Johnson has also refused to guarantee the future size of the successful Safer Neighbourhood Policing Teams, which are dedicated to each neighbourhood in London Boroughs.

Cameron's Conservative Mayor, Boris Johnson said: "I have no intention of imposing a one-size-fits-all model across the whole of London."

Now, I have some sympathy with this, however the size of the Safer Neighbourhood Teams currently are is the absolute minimum they must be, his only option to stop the one size fits all is to increase the size of the teams in problem areas.

In fact I have heard that before, because, yes that's right, that is exactly what the Liberal Democrats London Mayoral candidate, Brian Paddick was pledging during the Mayoral election.

London's policing does not need cuts, it needs investment.

The last word goes to London Liberal Democrat Assembly policing spokesman Dee Doocey who said:

"The mayor's decision to cut £16m from the police budget, to cut 455 police officers, and to reduce all borough police budgets, is a slap in the face to Londoners."