2008 or 1984?
I was somewhat disheartened when I read the article titled "Since when did trying to have your photograph taken constitute a threat to national security?" on the Guardian website.
Although this article contains a classic journalistic snafu and perhaps the lesson should be to check that you are reporting on actual facts, rather than a somewhat topical April fools joke, it's fundamental point is one that I am seeing echoed all over the Internet, and hearing anecdotal stories from fellow photography enthusiasts.
Articles such as this one from The Register and this one from EPUK are becoming increasingly common - I read new reports of similar incidents almost every day.
I don't know which is more disturbing, the fact that British security guards, Community Support Officers and Police men and women have such a lack of knowledge of the law, or the fact that the majority of people in this country don't seem to see anything wrong with the behaviour of these uninformed jack-asses when they try to stop a photographer from doing something which is perfectly legal, and in better times was considered a fun hobby by many people. If the law is not defended, it is lost - if people truly believe that taking a picture in a public place is a crime, then it is only a matter of time before it becomes one.
Watch this short film, illustrating the extraordinary behaviour of our Community Support Officers in London. I use the word "our" with some sense of irony, as it is quite clear that there is a growing division between the general public and the uniformed bullies who are supposedly there to serve us.
