Really it’s not. Believe it or not actually using a camera to take a picture is not a crime. In fact you’d be shocked to find out that people who aren’t nonce’s, terrorists or even tourists take pictures. These people are normal people, in fact some even have jobs families etc. So to promote safe-togging, or actually to promote the awareness of the victimisation of photographers (Amateur and Professional alike) the British Journal of Photography has set up the following website……
To quote the website:
Increasing concerns about terrorism, paedophilia, health and safety, personal privacy and plain old paranoia about pretty much anything Her Majesty’s subjects get up to has resulted in a deep mistrust of photographers.
Police routinely invoke anti-terror legislation to prevent photographers from carrying out their work, and photojournalists are constantly filmed at public gatherings and their details kept on an ever-growing database. Tourists, particularly foreign tourists, are also targeted by police, as was the case with an Austrian father and son recently who made the mistake of photographing a building of an extremely sensitive nature—Walthamstow bus station.
Put simply, Britain has become a no-photo zone, and so if you fail to comply, you may find yourself liable to attack, arrest or harassment. Recognising that Britain is not the only country where such a draconian anti-photographer culture is developing, the British Journal of Photography is beginning an international visual campaign to raise awareness.
So, take a portrait of yourself with a banner reading: ‘Not a Crime’ or ‘Not a Terrorist’ to the dedicated Flickr pool called I am not a Terrorist.
Here’s one I did earlier…..
