Slashdot Mirror
Police Allegedly Threaten A UK Photographer With Seizure Of All His Computers (wordpress.com)
Andy Smith is a Scotland-based news photographer (and a long-time reader of Slashdot). He writes
Recently the police wanted to seize some of my work photos to use as evidence in a prosecution... Rather than trying (and likely failing) to get a warrant to seize the photos, the prosecutor used a tactic that nobody had heard of before: He got a warrant to seize all of my cameras, computers, memory cards, etc, even though the photos were in a secure location, not at my home or in my possession. I was then given 24 hours to retrieve and hand over the photos, or the police would raid my home and take everything, effectively ending my career.
His blog post describes erasing every computer and memory card, though he believes the police only wanted the leverage that came from threatening to seize them. But the journalists' union advised him to surrender the photos, since otherwise his equipment could be held for over a year -- so he complied. "I regret my decision. Everyone on this side of the case has reassured me that it was the right thing to do, but it wasn't."
"As for the warrant, it remains active, with no time limit. I now conduct my work knowing that the police could raid my home at any time, without warning, and take everything."
His blog post describes erasing every computer and memory card, though he believes the police only wanted the leverage that came from threatening to seize them. But the journalists' union advised him to surrender the photos, since otherwise his equipment could be held for over a year -- so he complied. "I regret my decision. Everyone on this side of the case has reassured me that it was the right thing to do, but it wasn't."
"As for the warrant, it remains active, with no time limit. I now conduct my work knowing that the police could raid my home at any time, without warning, and take everything."
The US constitution (4th am.) would prevent this. So the cops would have taken them using civil forfeiture instead, sold them, and spent the dosh on hookers and blackjack.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Any time you deal with the cops, you've already lost. Hell, in some places in the US, they send kids to jail and then bill their parents for the jail stay when the kid is found innocent. And inner-city cops have a saying: "you can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride".
Of course, if this were in the US, the police might just seize everything anyway, hold a trial against the property (instead of against the photographer) and then auction it off for profit.
And the saddest part is, this is still well above average for a justice system.
The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
You've completely missed the point. While the seizure of the images was an issue, the *real* issue was that they threatened to take away his tools of the trade if he didn't comply, and that the threat is still standing even though he *has* complied and provided them with copies. It's the next step down the slippery slope started with "provide your encyption keys, or we'll lock you up" that could be applied to people they suspected of a crime, only now it's "we think you might have some evidence, even though you didn't actually commit the crime, so hand it over or we'll put you out of work."
Andy Smith might have saved himself a lot of pain, and you can't blame him for that, but he's also absolutely right in his final assessment that it wasn't the right thing to do; this tactic needs to be booted up to higher courts and stopped ASAP. Putting a *suspected* criminal on the spot like that is bad enough, but doing so to someone you *know* is innocent of the crime in question is completely and utterely unacceptable for any country that doesn't want to lay claim to being a police state.
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
This just illustrates the fact that the criminal justice system has become a threat to ordinary non criminal non violent citizens. You think that immigrants, criminals or terrorists are the greatest threat to your security, but actually the greatest threat to you personally is your own countries bureaucracy. We used to think that Russia or the Chinese system were bad but basically the illusion of freedom is just that - an illusion. It is bizarre but the only people likely to have any sympathy for you are the 'hated leftists'. Be careful what propaganda you believe in, corrupt systems and corrupt politicians are not your friend.
Facts are history now plebs have politics for religion on social media.
How about this perspective: Those are the words of a police state apologist.
There was no warrant from the police, therefore they had no right to his photographs.
> Rather than trying (and likely failing) to get a warrant to seize the photos, the prosecutor used a tactic that nobody had heard of before: He got a warrant to seize all of my cameras, computers, memory cards, etc
It's known as a writ of assistance and it was part of the reason why we sent a loud Fuck You to His Royal Majesty, by the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith, King George III.
So, you expect the same system that permitted this injustice to correct it? Not only that, you expect that same system to outlaw the injustice it committed? There's a dry laugh in my throat right now, filled with sarcasm.
A government that makes the above demands, is a police state. If the police wield so much power, that they can end the livelihoods of completely innocent people for no more than failing to comply with their demands, (the forced password handover requirement made this a reality years ago), then it is a police state. You can't expect freedom or democracy to survive in that kind of environment. The only real power is the willingness of the thugs to permit it under such a system.
So no,
Actually, the police did *NOT* ask for a warrant-- They asked to be allowed to seize all of his electronics, crippling his ability to work-- and then didn't SERVE that warrant, they merely said they would if he didn't cooperate.
In other words, this was legalized extortion: "That's an awfully nice career you have there-- would be a shame for something to happen to it. Now how's about you hand over those photos?"
That's not how it should work. The police make an official request for the photos, if the photographer refuses, when the case goes to court, a subpoena is issued, and if the photographer still refuses, he's held in contempt of court.
THAT is a legal process. What actually happened is government assisted extortion.