"I'm a street photographer not a terrorist"

This may be a little old news but I just found this image this morning and felt the need to post something about it. I've heard of photographers being arrested in London before and having their films / cards confiscated. This takes the cake though.

“Far too many people are carrying and using cameras in complete anonymity and absolutely nobody is keeping an eye on what they are doing with them. This is clearly a threat that makes it impossible for the public to feel safe, and PSICO will go a long way to protect them from dangerous and antisocial photography. We will know exactly who is photographing what, and if there is anything suspicious we can take them off the street.”



In an attempt to ease the street photography laws in London they are doing the following:
1) Forcing photographers to apply for registration to take pictures in a high traffic tourist area of London
2) Forcing them to then wear bright yellow vests with an electronic identifier / tracking device issued by the police.
3) Using CCTV cameras to identify 'illegal camera usage' - apparently the CCTV cameras in the area send out a signal that is reflected on camera lens coatings and can then be used to compare with locations of the electronic tracking devices of registered photographers to identify 'illegal use'.

Read the full article about what London is doing to try to control the epidemic of antisocial photography.