No photos please, we are British and totally paranoid . . .

stockhausen · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:38

Police community support officers (PCSOs) stopped Italian student Simona Bonomo under anti-terrorism legislation for filming buildings in London. Moments later, she was arrested by other officers, held in a police cell and fined £80. (Guardian)

Stupid amateur cops :mad:

Greenlizard0 · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:39

You've just linked to the Guardian site, not the article in question.

Stretch · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:40

Your link doesn't work. Tbh the police are damed if they do, damned if they don't. The £80 fine might have been taking it a bit far, but I've not read the story.

Glaucus · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:42

Link no worky

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/dec/15/italian-student-police-arrest-filming

And people support anti terrorist laws, it's not the government letting this country down. but the public. Most of these laws after all are public opinion stocking fillers.

J.B · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:42

Link to the actual story please.

I doubt there was an £80 fine just for filming buildings, she must have done something else. I doubt anything in the anti terrorism laws has a fine as a penalty.

EDIT
After reading the article it does seem like the police over reacted but I stand by my comments she wasnt fined for being a terrorist.

If shes got witnesses from the builders I imagine the fine will be over turned.

MikeHunt79 · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:44

I didn't think PCSO's had the power to arrest you?

Glaucus · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:44

J.B said:
Link to the actual story please.

I doubt there was an £80 fine just for filming buildings, she must have done something else. I doubt anything in the anti terrorism laws has a fine as a penalty.

Bonomo said she was told to sign an £80 fixed penalty fine for a public order offence. She plans to contest the penalty, which stipulated she caused "harassment, alarm and distress" in public.

MikeHunt79 said:
I didn't think PCSO's had the power to arrest you?

They can kind of same powers as a member of public. however he went and got 6 policemen who then arrested her.

Rich_L · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:45

J.B said:
I doubt there was an £80 fine just for filming buildings, she must have done something else. I doubt anything in the anti terrorism laws has a fine as a penalty.

Cooooorrect

She was searched and, after an altercation with one officer, was accused of being aggressive, bundled to the ground and arrested. The PCSOs were not involved in the arrest. After five hours in a police cell, Bonomo said she was told to sign an £80 fixed penalty fine for a public order offence. She plans to contest the penalty, which stipulated she caused "harassment, alarm and distress" in public.

Nice spin in the OP mind

stockhausen · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:45

MikeHunt79 said:
I didn't think PCSO's had the power to arrest you?

Have you actually read even the opening post :confused:

shifty_uk · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:45

MikeHunt79 said:
I didn't think PCSO's had the power to arrest you?

They don't but they can call a copper to arrest you?

Greenlizard0 · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:45

Edit..

Mr Jones · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:47

I mad a post back in Photography:

Mr Jones said:
This is what happens when you you film the Gurkin in London.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/dec/11/snapshot-special-branch-terror-suspect
Apparently you are allowed to film the top but not the bottom. If security flagged you as suspicious, the police have the right (and quite rightly so) to question what you're doing.
I kinda side the plain clothes police who was only there doing his job but to be honest, the other 2 uniformed officer just jumped in straight waving the Section 44 flag.
I know the reporter was being abit of a PITA with his rights, which is within his rights to not reveal his name and details nor show the officers what he had filmed UNLESS the police offers have very strong evidence of the suspect being involved in terrorism / gathering intelligence in the name of.
It wasn't until the police officers bring up the obstruction of police officer issue, the reporter had no choice but to give up.

The next report by the guardian again
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/dec/15/italian-student-police-arrest-filming
This I think is WAY OTT compared to the previous. Apparently being foreign and different in tone due to the language barrier amounts to being cocky by a PCSO, whom later flagged up something unrelated to the filming (that the student was cycling on the wrong direction earlier, in which she apologised) only to later be subject to an open arrest, with her pinned to the ground, jailed and forced to sign an £80 fine.

The first vid, I am semi on the fence but the second one is just stupid, more on the PCSO part. And with regards to the cocky tone, I felt it more from the PCSO than the student (who tbh, sounds like a drunk speaker - but I know of Europeans speaking like that as they are translating in their mind before they speak, much like how an English speak to a French, in French.)

Anyway, here's about a little snippet of our Rights (surprisingly useful from Dailymail), based HomeOffice released.

jakeke · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:47

teaboy5 · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:54

She was fined for going the wrong way down a one way street.

If i was her, i would just walked off.

Vonhelmet · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:55

You're not allowed to photograph anything these days without being a paedo or a terrorist.

AtreuS · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:55

George Orwell saw it coming alright.

The problem is this... if the police were all normal professional people then things like this would be far less likely to happen. The police however seem to have a certain element who are tossers, and its these power mad facist cops who are just the sort that turn normal situations into arrestable ones for "looking at them funny".

Ive had first hand experience of one of these morons and its quite disturbing to find that the police, whom you think are there to protect and serve, are sometimes there to act out their own personal agenda's. :confused:

Glaucus · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:56

teaboy5 said:
She was fined for going the wrong way down a one way street.

If i was her, i would just walked off.

Bonomo said she was told to sign an £80 fixed penalty fine for a public order offence. She plans to contest the penalty, which stipulated she caused "harassment, alarm and distress" in public.

She wasn't even stopped due to cycling the wrong way, that was only discussed after she was stopped for taking pictures.

Mr Jones · 16 Dec 2009 at 13:57

teaboy5 said:
She was fined for going the wrong way down a one way street.

If i was her, i would just walked off.

She was fined under the reason of causing harassment and public distress. (See 6:31 on video)
I think to myself, WTF? It's pretty obvious the PCSO was picking on her.

POB · 16 Dec 2009 at 14:00

The gum chewing and hands in pockets of the PCSO looks very lax.

deuse · 16 Dec 2009 at 14:01

PCSOs are a waste of space\money\time.
Give them all a broom so they can do something useful.

No photos please, we are British and totally paranoid . . .

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