(en) Britain, A ROUGH GUIDE TO FILMING THE POLICE DURING A
STOP & SEARCH by afed
Nowadays with most of us having a camera on our mobile phones, more and more people are
able to film the actions of the police during a stop and search and are choosing to do so.
---- However, there are a few basic suggestions that may help you to be better prepared,
can ensure that deciding to film the police makes a difference and can mean any footage
has genuine value as possible evidence. ---- Why stop and film? ---- Ordinary people
stopping and filming the police can mean that officers behave differently than they would
if no-one was watching and recording their actions. This might make the experience for the
person who has been stopped far less intimidating or threatening.
The more often the police are filmed stopping people, the more officers may come to expect
that they may be filmed in the future, which can influence the way they generally treat
people and whether stop & search powers are routinely used indiscriminately.
If police officers have acted unlawfully, filming them can help provide evidence if there
is a formal complaint or if someone is arrested.
Can I legally film the police?
There is no law stopping anyone filming in a public place, so if you are on the streets
you can film without asking permission - the Metropolitan Police's own guidelines (adopted
by all police forces in Britain) make clear that "police have no power to stop them
filming or photographing incidents or police personnel".
There is a law - Section 58A of the Terrorism Act 2000 - that says police officers can
stop you filming them if they believe that the video will be used for purposes of
terrorism. However, police guidelines state that:
"it would ordinarily be unlawful to use section 58A to arrest people photographing police
officers in the course of normal policing activities... An arrest would only be lawful if
an arresting officer had a reasonable suspicion that the photographs were being taken in
order to provide practical assistance to a person committing or preparing an act of
terrorism".
This does not apply when you stop to film the police stopping and searching people.
What to remember when filming
A stop & search is already a humiliating experience for the person who has been stopped,
so it is worthwhile asking them if it's OK to film and assuring them you are just filming
the actions of the police. Sometimes the police will try and stop you filming by saying it
'breaches the privacy' of the person being searched. You can get round this simply by
asking the person who has been stopped, "I'm here to make sure the police don't do
anything to you they are not supposed to. Is it OK if I film what the police are doing?"
If there are two people with cameras, it is worthwhile both of you filming. Either both
film the officers conducting the stop & search, or one person can focus on filming the
other person with a camera if the police are harassing them.
Remember, police officers don't want incriminating footage of them if they are acting
unlawfully. This can sometimes leave you as a target so be mindful of what this when you
are recording in case they try to arrest you.
Keep calm and focus on recording what you see, rather than getting involved in what you
are filming.
If police officers try and say you are obstructing them in their duties, simply step back
but hold your ground and carry on filming. Remember that legally they have no power to
stop you from doing so.
Focus on the actions of the officers. Your priority is to collect evidence. Make sure you
record police abuse, threats or orders. If nothing interesting is happening, it might
still be important to keep the camera rolling, but keep it focused on the police.
Film the officers' numbers: police officers are supposed to wear numbers, which are
usually on their shoulders and will help identify to them. As well as filming their
numbers, you can also read out their numbers on camera, which can help pin officers down
later.
Don't film the person being stopped & searched unless it is absolutely necessary to show
what officers are doing to them. You want to avoid becoming a police evidence-gatherer,
even inadvertently. Even if the person being stopped & searched is happy for you to film
them, it is best not to film their face or any identifiable clothing. It may not be in
that person's interest to be identified on YouTube undergoing a stop & search.
Don't film/upload anything that the police can use against the person being searched, such
as swearing.
It's important to try and film some sort of landmark, such as a street sign or major
building after the event but before turning off the camera. This will prevent the police
from saying that your video is of a different event.
Using your camera / camera phone
These are some really basic tips to remember that will help you capture better video footage:
Keep the camera still! Don't move it around all the time, you need a clear and steady shot
of important events. If you are having problems with this try focusing your eye on
something in the top corner of the screen, this should help.
Don't zoom in and out all the time. However when you have filmed something important (like
police numbers) make sure you zoom out afterwards and film landmarks around the incident,
this will help prove exactly where the incident took place.
After you've finished filming
Keep the footage safe and back it up as soon as you can.
When the person who has been stopped & searched is hopefully let go by the police, it's
worthwhile asking if they want to swap details so you can pass them the footage if they
need it.
If you are uploading it to YouTube or Vimeo, then let us know. E-mail info@netpol.org
https://afed.org.uk/a-rough-guide-to-filming-the-police-during-a-stop-search/
===http://www.anarkismo.net/article
