Camerist

It is legal for members of the public to film Police Officers in the course of their duties, despite what some Police Officers would like us to believe. Some abuse all sorts of laws to confiscate equipment, delete images, arrest people and trump up charges to intimidate members of the public. I have a suggestion on how to make the point.

When the Police abuse their powers in this way, it's always when they have the numerical strategic point of action. In a protest situation they know they have to pick their targets well, or wait until stragglers are available to snatch. They know they can't just pile into a crowd to grab someone three layers deep without it kicking off even worse. They specifically target or try to target ringleaders.

The people who are being caught and passed through the vengeance courts right now for actions committed during the riots aren't the hardliners, they are the people who were maybe caught up in the moment, who weren’t quite as fast on their feet in blending in with the crowd. They are the stragglers who the Police saw a strategic point to grab them.

Outside of the riots or protest situation, the people who are being abused like this are people no assume that because they;re not breaking any laws that the Police Officer will know that and not decide to invent charges or intimidate them. They assume they don't need several people all filming the same incident to deter the Officer from abusing their powers.

A protest specifically about this abuse starts with the premise that's increasingly common, that many Police Officers DO intimidate and abuse the law and WILL attempt to victimize people who are filming them.

Imagine a protest specifically about this type of abuse. Every member of the protest is peaceful, and every member of the protest is filming the Police Officers policing the protest at all times. They don't have a hope of snatching the entire crowd, and they certainly can't hide their abuses from every angle. Imagine the effects of a YouTube channel specifically for those videos from those protests.

It'd not only make a point to the Police Officers who think they can abuse the law when it suits them that they can't. It'd draw the general public's attention to those abuses. It'd also allow some attention to focus on the Police Commissioners in various areas to face the media over those actions caused by Officers in their employment. Eventually it'd get the top brass to put on public record that their officers have to obey the laws of the land, whether they agree or not. It'd also put pressure on to confirm that every officer will have been given clear training and guidance that they can't abuse the law.

This removes the ability for officers to carry on as some do now, because it's then a matter of public record that they have been told not to, there is no confusion, there is no excuse, there is only the law and punishment for breaking it.

It would also soothe one of the flames between Police Officers on the beat and members of the public. Law abiding members of the public like to think the Police are on our side, but when Police Officers abuse their positions to be vindictive and intimidate people that trust and faith is questioned. When people who break no laws are suddenly turned into criminals for no reason it does not help anyone. They knowlingly abuse anti-terror legislation at will to avoid being held to account for their actions or to prevent freedom of speech. If you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide; apparently.

The UK has a system of Policing by consent. The Police need cooperation from members of the public to solve crimes. More and more often when a crime happens and the Police do a round of knocking on doors to gather information they get a wall of nobody saw anything. If you're turned into a criminal by a vindictive Police Officer who trumped up charges against you after you broke no laws, what do you say when a different Officer knocks your door to ask if you saw something which may be relevant to a different crime?