Filed under: Journalism, NUJ | Tags: ACPO, Association of Chief Police Officers, Climate Camp, Forward Intelligence Team, Free Press, Freedom, Home Office, Human Rights, Investigation, Kent Police, Marc Vallée, Media Freedom, Media Restriction, Metropolitan Police, Minister of State for Policing, National Union of Journalists, New Scotland Yard, NUJ, Paul Lewis, Photographers, Photography, Police, Police Surveillance, Police Violence, Press Freedom, Press Freedom Media Workers, Special Procedure Material, State Repression, Surveillance Team
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 15.06.08. A police photographer, in full riot gear films and photographs protesters, during a demonstration against George W Bush during the U.S President’s visit to London on Sunday 15 June 2008, London, England. Protesters had been “banned” by the police from demonstrating outside 10 Downing Street to protest against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2008.
“Revealed: police databank on thousands of protesters” – The Guardian.
“Caught on film and stored on database: how police keep tabs on activists” – The Guardian.
“Under surveillance: police target environmental protesters and journalists” – The Guardian.
“Police surveillance: ‘They’re focusing on the press more than the protesters’” – The Guardian.
For the last 3 months I have been working on an investigation about police surveillance of journalists and protesters for The Guardian with Paul Lewis. Click on the links above to see what we found out.
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Keep up the good work; it’s good to see that there are still journalists with integrity out there…
It appears to be on the increase, but police photographing of protesters is nothing new – I was in a protest outside Parliament when the 1994 Criminal Justice Bill was passed. A fairly large group of us were surrounded by riot police on all sides and crushed against the fence around Parliament, and were held there for a few hours while a police photographer high up on a building opposite continuously took photos of us. The police would not allow anyone to leave, but on the tv news that evening it was claimed that a hardcore group of protesters refused to leave and were trying to climb over the fence & storm Parliament!
Comment by Dave Whittam March 7, 2009 @ 3:55 amNice work.
Comment by Michael Preston March 7, 2009 @ 6:28 amGood job Marc!
Comment by Jess Hurd March 8, 2009 @ 9:43 amGreat job on getting this out to the media, I watched the film on here with the police following you & it’s really shocking to me as an amateur photographer. People should be up in arms about this, how long before we all start appearing on databases with wider criteria regardless if we are doing anything wrong.
Comment by Kieron Helsdon March 8, 2009 @ 10:15 pm[...] Full post at this link… [...]
Pingback by MarcVallée: Guardian investigation into police surveillance of journalists | Journalism.co.uk Editors' Blog March 9, 2009 @ 11:49 amFrightening. Intimidation of the press is textbook behaviour of a totalitarian government — as is justifying virtually any act of repression or denial of rights with the word ’security’.
The Home Office abrogates all responsibility for police behaviour in matters like this, on the basis that policing is down to the police — in other words, the police are not accountable to the government for anything that they do.
How likely is it that the current opposition would change this situation? Not very, I suspect.
Comment by Simon Harvey March 10, 2009 @ 12:34 am[...] Marc Vallée (photojournalist): Guardian investigation into Police Surveillance of journalists and p… [...]
Pingback by Links for 10_03_09 « The Centre for Investigative Journalism News Blog March 10, 2009 @ 10:16 amThanks Marc and Jason for putting it out there.
I get the feeling that the police are working hand and hand with the government to control how decent is represented. There seems to be a concerted effort to make journalists miss deadlines when a protest story has a chance of making it into the papers or onto mainstream broadcasts. Add to this the harassment, intimidation and clear provocation it is clear that there are voices that they just want to shut down.
When I see the smug look of a bully on a officers face I know that someone upstairs has slackened the leash on a hand picked pit bull.
Alan Gallery
Comment by Alan Gallery March 10, 2009 @ 1:15 pmThanks Marc. The footage shows that these “Media Police” are opinionated in the extreme and not just there to record events. Like the other media crews. As a freelancer, I know I’ll come up against this type of harassment and other authority abuses of Sections 44&76… Your film exposes this and gives us firstly fortitude and encouragement to carry on, as well as something to fight back with… We are all photographers, not terrorists.. Thanks for getting it out there
Comment by Eddie Singleton May 3, 2009 @ 3:00 pm