Braehead In Anti-terror Photo Row, Police cite terror laws over family photo Options

[Jupiter]

Rab,talking as an ex cop I can assure you that there are many officers out there who get themselves embroiled in the stupidest, sometimes serious scenarios which results in the hierarchy going into overdive to extricate them from it.Ive seen it many times and this has it written all over it.The police are masters of the bluff and they will do everything to turn circumstances to show themselves in a good light.As for not caring;well the next time it could be you or me.

[Scotsman]

Thanks for your honesty Jupiter.... its police like you that we need on our streets because so many now seem to lack common sense and respect when it comes to dealing with Joe Public.

I totally agree with you that we should all care because any one of us could be in a situation that gets a bit out of hand like this one looks like it did.

[ashfield]

Rab,talking as an ex cop

Jupiter, I presume you know that Rab is also an ex cop

[Jupiter]

Ashfield , at the present time I dont recall Rab intimating that he was an ex cop .Re my post Rab will no doubt know where I was coming from.

[Alex MacPhee]

My point is that this is a dead duck as far as the rest of us is concerned!

The problem is, it won't be. However much you may wish to put the actions of the police in this case into the past, this type of issue will continue. There will be others, whether police or CPSOs or shopping mall floor walkers, who will continue to harass amateur photographers by trying to assert non-existent or inappropriate laws against perfectly lawful behaviour. This is not an isolated incident, and if you look at the history of it, you will find for instance that the magazine Amateur Photographer has been reporting on instances of intrusion into and perversion of civil liberties in this field for a good number of years now. That's why this case is not 'dead', and why an apology, publicly made, is needed here. There needs to be a very public reinforcement of civil rights and civil liberties, which are being trashed by the kind of mindless hysteria brought about when some sections of society see someone out on the streets carrying a camera.

[Jupiter]

Alex, I buy and sell compact digital cameras and can often be found fiddling about with them.
Yesterday it was a Fujifilm 12.2mp camera and I was in of all places,Braehead at the top of the escalator in M&S waiting for my wife who was browsing about.So there I am trying to work out the remote function on the camera when two security guys appeared at my side.They never said anything,waited a few minutes and then walked off.Coincidence,who knows.If there had been anything worth snapping I would have but as it was I just left.

[GG]

Jupiter, when you think of it, one could wonder why – in the light of the huge initial publicity this story got – none of the country's newspapers have followed up on Braehead's promise to change its photography policy. This could easily be done by sending a reporter and a child to the 'mall' and have the reporter take a couple of snaps of the kid.

However, the fact is that the country's media, en masse, dropped this story literally overnight after the police made their official statement. Even now, only Amateur Photography magazine has followed up on claims that Scotland's police watchdog has urged Strathclyde Police to issue an apology regarding claims the force itself made which appear to contradict witness statements.

GG.

[GG]

... That's why this case is not 'dead', and why an apology, publicly made, is needed here. There needs to be a very public reinforcement of civil rights and civil liberties, which are being trashed by the kind of mindless hysteria brought about when some sections of society see someone out on the streets carrying a camera.

Couldn't agree more, Alex. And while we're at it... where are our politicians in this matter? We have three layers of political representation in Scotland – local authority, Holyrood and Westminster – yet they all appear happy not to enter the debate, publicly at least.

GG.