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PHOTOGRAPHER'S RIGHTS 4th February - A police officer has blamed the government for instilling a climate of suspicion surrounding photographers but insists police should be allowed to get on with their jobs. 'It has been drummed into us that there is no specific profile for a terrorist so, therefore, any member of the public, in theory, could be a suspect if they are photographing iconic sites,' wrote the 'junior officer' in a letter sent to the Bureau of Freelance Photographers (BFP). The officer, who declined to be named, hit back at criticism levelled against 'junior officers' and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) over their use of controversial anti-terror stop-and-search laws. He claimed that police on the beat find themselves in a 'Catch-22' situation. The officer added: 'The government has a requirement to show they are getting value for money from police forces up and down the country and therefore they are under pressure to show they are hitting government-based targets on stop-and-account. Simply put, Plod on the street is told to produce x amounts of "stops" every week/month to hit the targets.' Responding to the claims, the BFP described the letter as 'revealing'. 'Quite simply, the police are under pressure to treat us all as potential suspects,' states the BFP's leader article. 'It may only be a few officers who are guilty of using the law maliciously, yet it is obvious that photographers will continue to be seen as a convenient easy target as long as the police have their own government-imposed targets to meet.' Quis custōdiet ipsōs custodes? Mike Dales's gallery contains 204 photos. 
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Gallery
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Mike Dales ARPS
Photographic Journeys
