Detained and questioned in London today

A friendly smile, and a polite explanation, should always be combined with a steely awareness of your rights as noted by BlackXList. It works for me...

But this sort of paranoia is one of the reasons I'm glad I no longer live in the UK.

Cheers,

R.
 
bonatto said:
Thanks for your comment Randy. Just FYI I am from New Hampshire, expat here in London, and handed them my NH ID without being asked.

...
In all, I was very clear why I was doing it, and why I would keep doing it, and this in itself was enough to end the situation amicably. Had I taken a harder stance, maybe I would have had some further frustration.
Click to expand...

Frank, one issue is that as an American abroad you are a guest, and your rights are not what they would be in the US. I also did not have a leg to stand on in that sense. Like you I did clearly and politely inform the agent what I was up to, and he was nice about it. I agree that avoiding trouble with someone who is being courteous and is trying to do their job is the best approach.

That said, are we all being a bit too reasonable, especially here in the States where our liberties were pretty solid and well-understood until recently? And yes, I know there are many counterexamples, from the WW II internment camps to the Red Scare, but in those cases too, "good men stood by and did nothing".

Thanks for the link to the interview, I will watch it.

Randy
 
I think you handled yourself very well...I also think that more photographers need to have this experience...
I was in Los Angeles last week...squatting down on a street corner, using a wide angle lens on my Mamiya m645 I was shooting Pershing Square with the buildings in the background...there were a bunch of cops walking, driving and cycling in this area...two of them on bikes were on the corner...one came up and said "You taking pictures of the buildings?"
I hesitated with my reply, debating just how I was going to handle this one, then look him straight in the eyes and responded with a very firm "Yup"...he then said "Good to know" and they took off...
 
Snapper_uk said:
You do actually require a permit to photograph within a London station or on the Underground, so don't get surprised if you get pulled up.

I was politely asked once to stop taking photos at Liverpool Street Station - however that was pre-September 11th 2001, so things have changed a bit since then...
Click to expand...

Would this not be for commercial use? Just took a quick look on the TFL website, seemed to be more geared towards commercial filming etc.
 
denizg7 said:
Randy im sure you have heard of the TSA and what a awful job they've done..


its better to see them actually take precautions to have a chance of stop great danger from happening then to see a pointless photograph of subway gates..

my two cents..
Click to expand...

I made sure to thank them for their efforts and let them know that I appreciated their concerns, legitimately, it established respect.
 
denizg7 said:
Randy im sure you have heard of the TSA and what a awful job they've done..


its better to see them actually take precautions to have a chance of stop great danger from happening then to see a pointless photograph of subway gates..

my two cents..
Click to expand...

Dennis, I don't know if you are being ironic or not - the TSA has indeed done a pretty sh-tty job, despite the fact that the federal agents are a more professional lot than the puffed up fools they hired in the beginning.

In a recent incident, widely reported, an off-duty law enforcement officer who had forgotten to take his firearm out of his pocket somehow made it through the rigorous TSA security screen. He sheepishly turned over his weapon when he realized his mistake. Perhaps the TSA officers were too busy inspecting little old ladies for hazardous materials.

And seriously, as a photographer you refer to his image as 'pointless'? Seems you are taking sides with your own enemy.

Randy
 
bonatto said:
I made sure to thank them for their efforts and let them know that I appreciated their concerns, legitimately, it established respect.
Click to expand...

I appreciate you doing that Bonatto and at the end of the day people just have to understand they were doing their jobs..

What bugs me most is some people (not you) in groups like to abuse and photograph just for abuse and try to get detained , when they have no problem with their president signing NDAA into play and drones spying on them without notice..

anyway like others said you handled it great. Where you using a dslr a rf? a mf camera?
 
Sorry for your trouble but London has always been a funny place 🙂
In the North we are more relaxed.
These are British Transport Police by the way.

6109259901_96782f7a05_z.jpg
 
zauhar said:
Dennis, I don't know if you are being ironic or not - the TSA has indeed done a pretty sh-tty job, despite the fact that the federal agents are a more professional lot than the puffed up fools they hired in the beginning.

In a recent incident, widely reported, an off-duty law enforcement officer who had forgotten to take his firearm out of his pocket somehow made it through the rigorous TSA security screen. He sheepishly turned over his weapon when he realized his mistake. Perhaps the TSA officers were too busy inspecting little old ladies for hazardous materials.

And seriously, as a photographer you refer to his image as 'pointless'? Seems you are taking sides with your own enemy.

Randy
Click to expand...

Randy,

I was saying how TSA does a worse job then the officers over there in europe. I remember seeing a little girl get a full body scan and I was shocked..

I don't support NDAA act or how obama supports drones to fly around our homeland and spy on us..and all the misguided liberals wohoo him.. However I think after 9/11 we need security in public transportation..not in our homes or telephones like the president or the president before that wanted..

As long as we support going to war and building military bases around places in middle east that are near oil we will continue to have enemies..
 
Sorry to hear of your Mishap with the Police...
having Gone through that earlier this Year I can Sympathize

Pleased to hear You kept your Cool and things turned out in Your favour

My scenario took Months to finally End...
Dismissed before going to Court and the Case Sealed
though I think only because I put in:
a Call to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)
a Complaint to the Civilian Complaint Board,
& another Complaint to the Police Commissioners Internal Affairs
 
Just another thought on the subject of photographing on stations (I'm off my soapbox don't worry) as a resident of The North I recognise that TFL (Transport For London) have their own restrictions on photographing/permits etc, the arrangements for shooting in/on a station are different outside London.

You can (and technically should) seek permission before shooting, but will probably be fine. However if you are using a tripod they may object due to causing obstruction on the platform (which seems perfectly reasonable).
 
The thing I always find odd about these sort of things is that if you are dealing with any of the below, why would they use a camera? Wouldn't a cell phone be more appropriate? After all it's easy to fit in cell phone vs a professional camera rig these days?

bonatto said:
After scrolling through the dismissible photos I managed to take today, they were satisfied that I was neither:

A. a pedophile

B. a voyeur

C. a terrorist
Click to expand...
 
Of course the paranoia created by 9/11 has leapt the pond and rules are different over there, but here in the US, if taking photos in public places, a warning just doesn't hold any legal ground, and detaining a photographer (unless they are impeding an officers activities, endangering others, or photographing military installations) holds even less ground.

So no, submitting to an illegal demand is not the "right" thing to do, it's just sometimes the easiest thing to do.
 
denizg7 said:
I appreciate you doing that Bonatto and at the end of the day people just have to understand they were doing their jobs..

What bugs me most is some people (not you) in groups like to abuse and photograph just for abuse and try to get detained , when they have no problem with their president signing NDAA into play and drones spying on them without notice..

anyway like others said you handled it great. Where you using a dslr a rf? a mf camera?
Click to expand...

little'ol black on black m8
 
denizg7 said:
Randy,

I was saying how TSA does a worse job then the officers over there in europe. I remember seeing a little girl get a full body scan and I was shocked..

I don't support NDAA act or how obama supports drones to fly around our homeland and spy on us..and all the misguided liberals wohoo him.. However I think after 9/11 we need security in public transportation..not in our homes or telephones like the president or the president before that wanted..

As long as we support going to war and building military bases around places in middle east that are near oil we will continue to have enemies..
Click to expand...

Thanks Dennis, I understand your point now in regard to the TSA. Sadly, most of the 'liberals' here in the US never heard of the NDAA.

Randy
 
Excellent image & the perfect way to handle that type of situation.

As a potential benefit to this situation, I'm hopeful that the police / other authorities involved have learned something about photographers shooting on the streets and that your interaction with them may assist future photographers if they are stopped by the same individuals.
 
Interesting experience to go along with an excellent shot! I actually think it's even a little exciting, you know, for bragging rights among friends. As for my I've photographed extensively at train stations and traffic hubs, but no one ever raised any suspisions. Maybe because I'm an Asian dude with a camera, if that doesn't scream "tourist" I don't know what will.
 
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