On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 11:07 AM, Subash <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > we have this flickr group that does a photowalk once a month in the > city, to places of historical/architectural interest. or just places > with lots of colour like bazaars/markets etc...and our biggest problem > is the policeman, who needs to boss around the moment he (it is mostly a > he) sees a score of guys with cameras. he usually goes on to tell us to > stop taking photographs though according to the law here, any public > place is a legitimate subject, unless there is a valid, legal, goverment > notice forbidding photography (usually for 'security' reasons)... >
Without getting into details, I used to be involved with the criminal justice system so I got to know a fair number of police officers. The vast majority are decent people. They don't abuse their position of power; they honestly believe that they're "doing a good thing" by being officers and are there to help society. It's a thankless job, one that I don't think I could do (especially in a big city). They aren't there to arrest people, they're there to keep the peace. They'd rather diffuse a situation than throw someone in jail and have them end up with a criminal record. However, there are a small number of cops who abuse their power. They know that they can use their authority to push people around, to make illegal searches and seizures, to coerce civilians in a number of ways. They know what to say in front of judges to get people convicted, they know how to make police reports and statements in such a way as to be very damning to any accused in court. Arresting folks and having them go through the court system, ending up with criminal records is a "notch in their belt". Too bad, because a couple of bad apples on any force can have a disproportionate affect on the rest of the population. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
