I just got back from the US, where I took a long trip down the Mississippi River from Davenport to New Orleans. I'll post more about that later, and more pics I took, but I wanted to comment first on a (terrifying IMO) new trend in the US.
As reported on animal, and at the Long Beach Post, it is now policy for Long Beach, CA police officers to detain photographers for taking pictures "with no apparent esthetic value," as stated by Police Chief Jim McDonnell. Note: this doesn't mean they'll be arrested, just questioned.
But over what, and to serve what purpose?
On my long trip I took a lot of pics of crap - an abandoned school (at the top), or ruined houses, little dumpy stores or whatever. I took pictures of relatively plain churches because the clouds were nice, or a grain loader (below).
Do any of these scenes merit a picture? I thought so. Which means they have some value, to me at least.
But what the hell gives any city the right to interfere with my right to take pictures of things in public places?
The Long Beach policy apparently is in line with a LA Special Order (number 11), detailing how officers should make Suspicious Activity Reports in order to preempt terrorist acts. The order recommends officers should make note of people doing such suspicious activity as "using binoculars or cameras, tak(ing) measurements, or draw(ing) diagrams," along with a huge list of activities, some obviously suspicious, others very much open to debate.
Yes, monitoring suspicious individuals should be a part of any trained law enforcement officer's job, but it can go too far. Why should I have to explain why I'm taking a picture of a burned out trailer? Or a nuclear power plant? Or a cop patrolling on a horse? (all things I've taken pictures of recently) Maybe my friend died in the fire, or I'm a budding miniature builder, or really dig horses. What the hell does it matter to anyone? Or even better, even if it does matter to someone, no one should have the right to detain me to question me about it.
Even worse, though, are laws like ones in Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, and other places making it illegal to video tape an on-duty police officer. As they state on gizmodo, most of these states allow an exception for public places where no privacy can be expected, but Illinois does not, and it seems that often times this exception is ignored. Meaning that if you see a cop beating up someone for talking back you can be arrested for filming the cop.
... Or (in a more crazy scenario), you could be arrested for accidentally filming a cop as you pan your cam over a city scene. Yeah, this probably won't happen, but with laws like these in place, the police could choose to arrest you in that case, since the cops being filmed hadn't given you permission.
And all this is just a continuation of the erosion of our freedoms and rights, all in the name of protecting us from terrorism. And most people are happily willing to comply.
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