Police: Photographers should carry identification

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What is wrong with carrying some i.d. and showing someone in authority if they need to see it? I understand all the civil liberty stuff, but quite frankly, I would rather have my identity checked occasionally, than live with the threat of terrorism constanly spoiling my life!
 
Sigmamark said:
What is wrong with carrying some i.d. and showing someone in authority if they need to see it? I understand all the civil liberty stuff, but quite frankly, I would rather have my identity checked occasionally, than live with the threat of terrorism constanly spoiling my life!
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I haven't carried ID with me reguarly for a fair few years now, in my normal day to day life, I don't need it. I'm not going to start now, just because someone is scared of cameras, or the mad cat woman in a wheelchair with a camera!
 
In which case cyclists should (have you any idea how much plastic exposives you can get in a bike frame?) and as for that wheelchair of yours missy, you are not foolin' me. ;)

And better not wear a hat, that's concealing your identity is it not?

And how many mobile phones have cameras in them now? Ok that will be every mobile phone user too then.

And P&S...........
 
SKATEBOARDING IS NOT A CRIME - oh sorry, wrong protest group, yep all good with me, they ask me who I am, I tell them and show them, I am left alone so they can go and catch people who are up to no good, oh wait, they will be planning an attack from the internet though, pah, whatever, I am happy never to come to the capital again, leave me in the Lakes, yay !
 
AliB said:
In which case cyclists should (have you any idea how much plastic exposives you can get in a bike frame?) and as for that wheelchair of yours missy, you are not foolin' me. ;)

And better not wear a hat, that's concealing your identity is it not?

And how many mobile phones have cameras in them now? Ok that will be every mobile phone user too then.

And P&S...........
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LOL, the amount of electrics in my chair and the batteries.... enough to make a canny sized suicide bomb :lol: "Move away from the bleach isle, Madam. Car battery acid and bleach,...do you have a death wish?!" :lol:
 
Sigmamark said:
What is wrong with carrying some i.d. and showing someone in authority if they need to see it? I understand all the civil liberty stuff, but quite frankly, I would rather have my identity checked occasionally, than live with the threat of terrorism constanly spoiling my life!
Click to expand...

The only issue is that if a terrorist was going to scout out a location, he/she will be trying to blend in with the crowd and using a P&S, not "pro" gear.
Police would NEVER target P&S the way they target "Pro" camera's becuase of the awful stink it would cause in the media.
Unfortunately its there way to show "they are doing something" the problem is that there approach is not logical.
 
gazedd said:
The only issue is that if a terrorist was going to scout out a location, he/she will be trying to blend in with the crowd and using a P&S, not "pro" gear.
Police would NEVER target P&S the way they target "Pro" camera's becuase of the awful stink it would cause in the media.
Unfortunately its there way to show "they are doing something" the problem is that there approach is not logical.
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Totally agree with you! The biggest thing theyd have would be a P&S, it's much more likely they'd have a tiny hidden camera on them than a Canon/Nikon/Sony/Olympus/other brand DSLR!
 
gazedd said:
The only issue is that if a terrorist was going to scout out a location, he/she will be trying to blend in with the crowd and using a P&S, not "pro" gear.
Police would NEVER target P&S the way they target "Pro" camera's becuase of the awful stink it would cause in the media.
Unfortunately its there way to show "they are doing something" the problem is that there approach is not logical.
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Precisely. With the time they waste questioning someone with 'pro' equipment, a real terrorist could take hundreds of discreet shots with a point and shoot.

That's if they couldn't be bothered using google maps of course.
 
MagicMynx said:
LOL, the amount of electrics in my chair and the batteries.... enough to make a canny sized suicide bomb :lol: "Move away from the bleach isle, Madam. Car battery acid and bleach,...do you have a death wish?!" :lol:
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All you really need is some fertiliser and you are cooking on gas! :D

Glad you took that as it was intended :thumbs:
 
Are the police so stupid that they don't think a terrorist could create/forge their own ID and have a plausable "excuse" for being there?

DUH!!
 
Sigmamark said:
What is wrong with carrying some i.d. and showing someone in authority if they need to see it?
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The last bit of that sentence. "If they need to see it". They don't if you are going about your lawful business and that includes photography.


Steve.
 
Stop and Search, why do they always pick on the people in the open with a bloody great camera? if i remember rightly, the bombers in London carried back packs, so why are they not stopping and searching people with back packs???? I’m all for added security in this day and age but seriously, If someone was trying to get image Intel on a building they wanted to bomb, then surely they would make it a little less obvious!!
 
So what exactly are they going to do? Some terrorist is stood there taking a picture. Police ask him if he has id. He provides ID and His name is Osama Bin Laden for example. They ask you why are you taking a picutre of this and like Magic Mynx said because its pretty or he wants to.. What are they going to do then? "O are you using this for terrorist informaion?" I doubt it. I have no probleme in carrying ID. Im 20 and i get asked for ID for a 15 dvd :(.. But im used to it. But asking for ID will solve nothing. Are they going to acuse everyone for being a terrorist just because they are taking a picture. And as Bristolian said, they have the technology and knowlege to create thier own identity.

Gav
 
AliB said:
All you really need is some fertiliser and you are cooking on gas! :D

Glad you took that as it was intended :thumbs:
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You cook fertilizer on gas :shake:

And to think I got away lightly at your place with bacon sarnies - were they with/without fertilizer :D

DD
 
GavSterry said:
So what exactly are they going to do? Some terrorist is stood there taking a picture. Police ask him if he has id. He provides ID and His name is Osama Bin Laden for example. They ask you why are you taking a picutre of this and like Magic Mynx said because its pretty or he wants to.. What are they going to do then?
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Precisely. Because terrorists are allowed by law to take photographs in public just like the rest of us.


Steve.
 
We can all get around this problem of being hassled by the police for no reason simply by wearing a Burqa!
 
This is ridiculous. We are living in a police state. What even happened to innocent until proven guilty? What's wrong with letting people do there own thing unless they brake the law and then and only then throw the book at them. Rather then give the criminals a slap in the wrist and messing with the rest of use. I don't blame the police but rather the misguided government :(
 
I personally think they police should concentrate on the real criminals out there ( theives, druggies, rapists etc) rather than terrorising innocent toggers.
 
As we are just as entitled to ask a police officer for their ID, perhaps a pre-emptive strike day where a group of photographers walk round London asking to see every police ID they come across, question them on their intentions, and maybe even phone 999 if you come across one who is uncooperative and say you think you have a bogus policeman there.
 
Do know why it's so hard to catch terrorists.

Because there's so darn few of them.

Pity the police and red top papers don't understand this simple truth.
 
Reminds me of the time we were stopped before boarding the Larne-Stranraer ferry, back in the days of the Troubles...

"Excuse me sir, can I ask what the purpose of your trip to Northern Ireland was?"

The temptation was to say that we were fertiliser wholesalers and had just been delivering a huge rush order to a group of men in balaclavas :naughty:
 
:shake:

I remember the troubles, I also remember being on the receiving end of a PIRA fertiliser bomb
 
Most people already do - it's called a driving-licence...

Honestly I have no idea why so many people are against ID cards...

I'm aware of all the arguments for and against, but honestly, your Credit/Debit Cards probably carry all of the information and more that you're concerned will be stored on ID cards...
Name, address, purchasing habits etc... a pattern of life could be generated quite easily from your purchasing habits alone.
If the authorities want that information, they can already access it - having an ID card will make no significant difference.
The only downside is that Govt wants US to pay for them...err... nope...they want me to carry one and make it mandatory, then they can provide it FOC...

Even if the information stored on them could be accessed by the authorities, most Govt Agency personnel are so thick they'd not be able to do it even with a Step-By-Step guide telling them how.

Have you ever tried getting a straight answer from your Local council?
Those people are pond-life!
Most of the people doing data-retrieval would be out earning big bucks in the Private Sector if they were any good at what they do...lol
 
Arkady said:
Most people already do - it's called a driving-licence...

Honestly I have no idea why so many people are against ID cards...

I'm aware of all the arguments for and against, but honestly, your Credit/Debit Cards probably carry all of the information and more that you're concerned will be stored on ID cards...
Name, address, purchasing habits etc... a pattern of life could be generated quite easily from your purchasing habits alone.
If the authorities want that information, they can already access it - having an ID card will make no significant difference.
The only downside is that Govt wants US to pay for them...err... nope...they want me to carry one and make it mandatory, then they can provide it FOC...

Even if the information stored on them could be accessed by the authorities, most Govt Agency personnel are so thick they'd not be able to do it even with a Step-By-Step guide telling them how.

Have you ever tried getting a straight answer from your Local council?
Those people are pond-life!
Most of the people doing data-retrieval would be out earning big bucks in the Private Sector if they were any good at what they do...lol
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I am in favour of ID cards what I am not in favour of is some jumped up PCSO asking to see it every 5 minutes just because I am carrying a DSLR or taking shots of a famous building from public land.As many have said real terrorists would be much more discreet and as I have said on here before Bin Laden and his cronies must we wetting themselves laughing as we destroy the freedoms we are supposedly fighting for
 
Arkady said:
Most people already do - it's called a driving-licence...

Honestly I have no idea why so many people are against ID cards...

I'm aware of all the arguments for and against, but honestly, your Credit/Debit Cards probably carry all of the information and more that you're concerned will be stored on ID cards...
Click to expand...

I carry my driving licence all the time and don't have a problem with it. That is my choice though - I don't have too.

I would object to being told that I had to carry ID all the time.


Steve.
 
Our police officers must be needing re-trained. You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to know a guy in the street with tripod and several punds of Nikon gear strapped to the top of it is a terrorist. Throw away the key I say.
 
One more point:

The police do not need to know who you are unless you are being detained/arrested, cautioned or being given a fixed penalty.

Someone doing something which is not illegal may go about it without anyone needing to know who they are or why they are doing it.


Steve.
 
I think the problem here is showing id proves nothing, people obtain false id all the time, it's not too difficult if you know how, even things like a driving licence can be easily obtained. Organised professional terrorists will have no trouble getting them. Besides a sucide bomber isn't too worried about showing his real id if he's going to be dead in a week is he.
 
swanseamale47 said:
Besides a sucide bomber isn't too worried about showing his real id if he's going to be dead in a week is he.
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And his ID (if he had any) doesn't have a section which says: "OCCUPATION - TERRORIST".

So a complete waste of time really.



Steve.
 
swanseamale47 said:
I think the problem here is showing id proves nothing, people obtain false id all the time, it's not too difficult if you know how, even things like a driving licence can be easily obtained. Organised professional terrorists will have no trouble getting them. Besides a sucide bomber isn't too worried about showing his real id if he's going to be dead in a week is he.
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Let's face it - any competent 'no-gooder' will have a decent fake ID and cover story well in advance of any photo-recce on the nation's cities and infrastructure.
Plus any would-be Terry would in any case be so insulated from those bent on carrying out such attacks that it would make no difference anyway...

I also agree that our 'right' not to have to prove who we are on demand is something worth fighting for - but other than that i have no qualms about carrying said documentation...makes it easier for my loved ones to collect me from whatever hostelry I end up collapsing next to at the End Of Tour P***-Up...
 
I carry my driving licence and passport in my camera bag which is with me most of the time. I also have to carry a warant card when at work (local government). Although the idea of the police/special branch et al abusing any powers horrifies me, it only takes a second to show any ID you might have.

Al
 
MagicMynx said:
I haven't carried ID with me reguarly for a fair few years now, in my normal day to day life, I don't need it. I'm not going to start now, just because someone is scared of cameras, or the mad cat woman in a wheelchair with a camera!
Click to expand...

thats the best reason to carry ID i ever heard "mad cat woman" :lol:
 
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