UK - "Photography is not a crime" campaign

[John Ashworth]

Link

Increasing concerns about terrorism, paedophilia, health and safety, personal privacy and plain old paranoia about pretty much anything Her Majesty’s subjects get up to has resulted in a deep mistrust of photographers.

Police routinely invoke anti-terror legislation to prevent photographers from carrying out their work, and photojournalists are constantly filmed at public gatherings and their details kept on an ever-growing database. Tourists, particularly foreign tourists, are also targeted by police, as was the case with an Austrian father and son recently who made the mistake of photographing a building of an extremely sensitive nature—Walthamstow bus station.

Put simply, Britain has become a no-photo zone, and so if you fail to comply, you may find yourself liable to attack, arrest or harassment. Recognising that Britain is not the only country where such a draconian anti-photographer culture is developing, the British Journal of Photography is beginning an international visual campaign to raise awareness.

Over the next year we hope to gather thousands of self-portraits of photographers-professional and amateur—from around the world, each holding up a white card with the words, ‘Not a crime’ or ‘I am not a terrorist’.

[John Ashworth]

Response from the 10 Downing Street website:

Thursday 6 August 2009

Railenthusiasts - epetition response

We received a petition asking:

“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to end the routine harassment of railway enthusiasts, especially those taking photographs, on security grounds and to replace the presumption of guilt implicit in the Association of Train Operating Companies/Network Rail/British Transport Police “Guidelines for Rail Enthusiasts” with an instruction to staff not to challenge individuals whose activities clearly constitute neither a threat to security nor the safe functioning of railway premises.”

Details of Petition:

“The “Guidelines for Rail Enthusiasts” promoted by the Association of Train Operating Companies, Network Rail and the British Transport Police require enthusiasts to “sign in” before spending leisure time at railway stations. These guidelines, which place the onus on the individual to prove that he or she is not a threat rather than on railway professionals to prove he or she is, have led to considerable conflict between railway enthusiasts and often poorly trained staff, take little account of the behaviour of enthusiasts, are highly unlikely to offer any real protection against terrorism and only serve to alienate the industry’s natural allies.”


There has been no change in the law either to limit the activities of railway enthusiasts or to ban railway photography. Railway enthusiasts are, of course, subject to the same rules as anyone else using the railway and so must not, for example, trespass on parts of the railway that are not open to the general public.

Network Rail, most train operators and the British Transport Police nevertheless all have policies in place that recognise the security benefits that the presence of enthusiasts can bring to the railway. The Government, too, recognises this and agrees that extra security at stations should not prevent enthusiasts from pursuing their legitimate interests. Enthusiasts are asked to make their presence known to station staff where this is practical but this is a reasonable request and one that can readily be complied with. It is designed specifically to avoid the sort of confrontation described in the petition.

There may be occasions when staff seek to remove enthusiasts nonetheless. Where there are good reasons for this, for example when there is a particular security threat, the staff concerned should be ready and able to explain the reasons. Otherwise, both Network Rail and the British Transport Police provide a summary of their relevant policies on their website and recommend that enthusiasts take a copy to show staff should they be challenged.