William Robb wrote:
----- Original Message ----- From: "E.R.N. Reed"
Subject: Re: Today I Was Stopped by the Police While Photographing
With all respect, I disagree with your conclusion that this will lead
to a police state,
In the last week we have now heard three stories of photographers
being harassed by police for photographing publicly viewable subjects
in public places.
With all due respect, this is leading to a police state situation for
a particular demographic, at the very least.
I think you have a very exaggerated view of the meaning of "police
state". It doesn't mean a state in which police exist and are actively
doing their job. You also have an exaggerated view of the meaning of
"harassed." It doesn't mean politely conversed with in a public, open
setting.
I saw the same stories you did. One of them I only glanced at briefly
once, in a hurry, and since I don't want to go back and look for it, I
won't comment on it. The other two can be summarized thus: "Concerned
citizen thought something looked funny about the behaviour of a strange
man with a camera and asked police to check it out. Police approached
subject. (In one case we know that police approached subject very
politely. We have no information as to how they approached the other.)
One subject was pleasant, cooperative and obviously harmless and police
went on their way and let him go his way. As to the other subject, the
police looked at his camera, with his consent, and (being apparently
still or even more concerned) then his car, and the more they looked at
him, the more it appeared that he might be a menace, and so he was
detained."
If you want dangerous perverts to wander around your district and never
be caught, you're entitled to your opinion. (Which we have now heard,
over and over.) My opinion, (which I've also shared many times and so I
suppose this can be the last time) is that I do not want dangerous
perverts on the loose where I live, and I like the idea that police have
taken a close look at this guy -- hopefully if he actually is a
potential threat, he can be stopped before he escalates an unhealthy
interest in the pizza-delivery customers, high-school football
spectators, etc., of this area, to stalking, abduction, rape and murder.
It is the job of the police to keep the citizenry safe. That's going to
mean that sometimes they take a look at something that might seem a
little bit unusual, and they find there's no problem there at all. And
sometimes they take a look at something that might seem a little bit
unusual, and they find a genuine, big problem.
