shoot the police :::
Here’s a very little video something I think is important (see description underneath for why):
A new ‘anti-terror law’ was brought in recently – did you hear about it? Section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 updates section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which states that a person commits an offence if he collects or makes a record of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. And “record” includes a photographic or electronic record.
Section 76 expands on this, turning into a criminal anyone who publishes or communicates any information about a member of the armed forces or a police officer which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
I think it’s really important to exercise our rights so they don’t get taken away from us. We’re exceptionally lucky in the UK to have a lot of freedom that it’s easy to take for granted so yes, this is just a short video, but it’s important to me to make a stand in this way. The police are working for us, after all!
Read more on the National Union of Journalist’s website here and watch a video of the recent “I’m a Photographer not a Terrorist” demonstration here.
Soooooo,
what if one among those your filming, turns out to be your mate Mikes dad. You show it to your mate Lisa, Your mate lisa knows Dave, who knows Phil, who knows Dean, who knows some nasty man who subsequently goes out and boshes your mate Mikes dad in, who was really just trying to keep a low profile whilst stopping peeps blowing shit up e.t.c!?!? Obviously exaggerated/exaggerate as appropriate.
food for thought? Two sides of a coin? Two cliffs of Peril? Two cheese starters? Two pots of noodle?
I am the firestarter, good to keep my cogs working.
Why would the nasty man go and bosh Mike’s Dad’s head in?
The point of this is that the police are working for the people, so to prevent the people from keeping a reasonable eye on them could lead to the bad police (of whom there are enough to be a problem) getting away with whatever they like with no-one able to legally record it (I’m talking about at protests etc, crowd control out of hand etc).
There are plenty of good police too, many of whom apparently back the campaign to overrule this new law because they understand that the public need to feel like nothing’s being hidden from them. I don’t think people will see a particular police officer in a video / photo, track them down by face alone and do bad things to them – this is not an episode of Dexter after all!
You’re a silly boy Simon
Also, in reference to your “stopping peeps blowing shit up etc” point, spending time stopping people like me, press photogaphers, tourists etc from photographing public places takes the police away from spending time on real crime, and gives the standard bobby on the beat even more excuse to make everyone a terrorist.
People in this country need to realise that these anti-terrorism laws can be used against *them* as well as people *they* consider to be actual terrorists. That’s the real discussion here.
don’t want to be picky but the police are NOT working for the people; they, and the entire legal system they enforce, are working for the government, and our ruling class, to protect property; always have always will. To be fair on the average plod (s)he won’t give a toss about your taking pictures but if they got out of bed on the wrong side you do hand them an easy excuse to meet their arrest targets if you do so.
As I know from personal experience from the late 70’s onwards the old Bill, esp. in our nation’s capital, have never had a problem arresting people, infringing their civil rights, or inflicting violence on peaceful types, at demo’s, protests, etc., before the anti-terror laws were passed and I doubt much would cramp their style in the future. Trouble is middle England and the civil libertarians of the Right love the forces of law and order as they help maintain the gulf between the have’s and the have nots
Good point Greg, but I suppose until the UK is officially declared a police state I’ll hang on (in the interests of balance) to the idea that there are good cops out there trying to protect good people.
I’m concerned about the idea that most people in the country don’t realise these anti terror laws directly affect them and that they don’t know their rights if they’re stopped and searched. It bothers me that uneducated lower ranks of the police can use these laws to meet their arrest targets and generally pull rank on the general public because they know they’re unlikely to be met with much opposition.
If we don’t stand up for our rights in a peacable yet firm way they will be taken away from us without us even realising.
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