On 27/2/10, Bob W, discombobulated, unleashed: >The stop and search powers are essentially the same as the sus law which was >repealed back in the 80s because it was abused to such an extent that it was >a major factor in the race riots of that time. The police abuse their >authority whenever they stop someone without due cause for suspicion. Now, >that's wide open to interpretation of course, but hiding a Leica behind your >back or inside your jacket normal and legal for a certain type of >photography, which is itself legal. People going about their business should >not be subject to this sort of thing. The stop and search powers are >themselves an abuse of power by the government and by the police, and have >been ruled illegal by the European Court of Human Rights.
>http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/police/powers/stop-and-search/ >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8453878.stm Interesting links, thanks. I didn't know about the 'sus' law, or if I did, I'd forgotten about it. Came back from the USA in 76 and spent 10 years inebriated so that may have been why... >The police abuse their >authority whenever they stop someone without due cause for suspicion. Now, >that's wide open to interpretation of course I think this seems to be the crux of the matter. I was thinking 'why doesn't it bother me??' The only thing I can think of is that for the past 23 years I have been subjected to intense 'processing' because of my work. Everywhere I go, I have to sign in and sign out, give details, fill in forms, give explanations sometimes ad- hoc on the moment, sometimes in advance. I have been searched and cleansed going in and out of prisons, police stations, military bases, RAF bases, naval bases, research establishments, everything - from down in a sewer to Buckingham palace and everywhere inbetween - you name it. I have dozens of passport pics ready to go as they need sending to every sort of establishment you can imagine for accreditation. I can remember a time when I didn't like being a number and refused to wear clip-on ID tags when filming on various premises - I used to clip them to the front of the camera. Stick-on tags I stuck onto the wooly mic cover. Now it doesn't bother me. In fact I found out that the more you jump through the hoops they put in front of you, the more you get what you want. Facing off against a jobsworth is so incredibly boring to me that I avoid it like the plague. I do the opposite - I make a friend with the jobsworth, and because of that I end up getting what I want or need with minimal fuss and effort, and usually with a cup of tea thrown in for good measure. As a point of principle I suppose I agree that stop and search is open to abuse and judging by the original youtube video, it is plain to see. However, I still maintain the bloke in question was being adversarial and that is only going to end up with one result. I suppose if I didn't do the job I do, and was (say) an IT guru who enjoyed photography in public places, and it happened to me, then there is a chance that I would have an adverse reaction as well. The problem is, I can't hypothesize about that because my view is toned by my history. All I can see is a bloke being adversarial and getting what was coming to him. A name and address and a friendly chat about camera clubs and he could have been on his way photographing again in minutes. What is so difficult about that? -- Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ---------- http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
