Make war on the people long enough, and they WILL make war on you.

Phones with the Nokia S60 OS come with (or can download) Nokia’s free “Share Online” application for easily uploading images/video to Flickr, Ovi, etc. Works with Cellular data or WiFi, and can automatically GeoTag on models with GPS. http://betalabs.nokia.com/betas/view/share-online-4

If your camera takes SD cards, you could use the “Eye-Fi” wireless SD card — looks like a normal card to your camera or a cop, but will automatically upload photos as they’re taken. http://www.eye.fi/

Drawback to the Eye-Fi is that you may not be near a hotspot. Workaround would be to carry in your shoulder bag either a mobile WiFi repeater or a mini PC that can snag the photos from the Eye-Fi and store them locally for later upload. That way the cops can smash your camera and steal your memory card, but you don’t lose the pictures or video.

In the US, it is against the law to identify yourself to a police officer. Oddly, it’s not against the law for the police to identify themselves to you, although it does annoy the heck out of them…

What?

I’m thinking there are some words missing or backwards in that statement.

I’ve been thinking about something like this lately. The ubiquity of video recording devices (and the existence of the big network) is one of our only defenses against growing governmental powers. Grass roots surveillance. gonna check out shozu for sure, but it seems like more could be built in. ie encryption, the use of tor to make destination anonymous, etc.

i’m not much of a hacker, but this is something that NEEDS to get done. somebody run with it.

A few years ago, I have a friend who witnessed the police in Baltimore beating a young man who had been riding an illegal dirt bike in the city. People often use them for drug running. He pulled out his phone to film the event, and was grabbed behind by a plainclothes cop. He missed a day of work. When he came back, he was missing his phone, had a seriously swollen face (from the illegal beating he took), and an unjustified assault charge that he eventually beat at significant personal expense for the law firm.

It doesn’t matter what the law is in the US. If the police can cover their tracks right, many of them will beat the populace into submission.

check out shozu at http://www.shozu.com it automatically uploads pictures and videos to what every sites you want. I use it to put pictures in my Live gallery and upload videos to youtube. And it all happens with out any prompt or sign that its working so if a cop takes your phone they wouldn’t know whats happening.

Good thing that the CCTV was there to record the cops behaviour so that it wouldn´t just be her word against theirs.

Wait, what?

“The reports were most critical of the stop-and-search policy, which saw all protesters made to line up in airport-style checkpoints to be searched going to and from the camp. Commanders, the review reveals, initially told officers that “personal grounds must be justified and no blanket power approach is to be taken” when searching under section 1 of Pace. But they were then told “that the camp is illegal and the intention of the camp is to commit damage, hence the grounds for searching attendees to the camp is made”, which resulted in almost every activist being searched multiple times.

The reports said this resulted in a “vicious cycle”, “moving non-activists closer to resistance and violence on account of tactics they saw hard to accept as justified by the police. With this developing crowd dynamic of hostility, intelligence then presented a worsening picture, which provided more grounds to search camp attendees.”

A list of more than 2,000 possessions taken from protesters, released under the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that, in a supposed attempt to prevent activists causing injury or taking a nearby river, officers took packets of balloons, tents, a clown’s outfit, camping equipment, cycle helmets and bike locks, bin bags, party poppers, leaflets and soap.

The NPIA debrief was particularly critical of the failure of officers to write legibly. “The fact that so many forms were submitted in such poor quality also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of supervision and the overall knowledge of policing powers, which was felt to be lacking.”

Lawyers for Gemma Atkinson, a 27-year-old who was detained after filming police officers conduct a routine stop and search on her boyfriend, believe her case is the latest example of how police are misusing counterterrorism powers to restrict photography.

A routine stop and search???? What has England come to?

Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, who was arrested, released, and had the charges dropped provided two photo IDs with his address and Harvard affiliation.

As the NY Times reported, “According to Professor Ogletree, Professor Gates said he showed the responding officer, Sgt. James Crowley, photo identification, but he (Crowley) did not believe Professor Gates lived at the home. Frustrated, Professor Gates asked for Sgt. Crowley’s name and badge number, which he refused to give.”

Was Sgt Crowley manifesting racism? I don’t know, but there is no excuse for a cop performing a legal arrest to refuse to identify himself. This is “merely” “assault under the color of authority.” Which is a serious crime.

The responding officers were *not* undercover cops, so identifying themselves would not have compromised their ability to do their job in any way.

That, for me, is the kicker.

Many years ago, when John Major was the PM, and I was fresh-faced young whipper-snapper, I used to help monitor the behaviour of the police at public demonstrations. If any of them acted outside of the law, were violent or wrongfully arrested people, we would calmly note their ID numbers and pursue them through the IPCC if necessary. It was, however, unheard of for anyone other than the TSG not to wear ID badges. The TSG were, charitably, evil scum and we did our best to contain them when we could. Ordinary police were identifiable though.

Today, all that has changed, and it seems the MET thinks it’s OK to have anonymous police officers on the beat. That is total bullshit. Refusing to identify yourself when performing a public duty should be subject to fducking JAIL.

In the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) which governs the police’s duties in England and Wales –

s.1(3): If a police officer suspects a person to have…prohibited items on them, he may stop and search them.
s.2(2): Having detained a person it is the police officer’s duty to take reasonable steps before he conducts a search to bring to the person’s attention:
s.2(2)(i) if the constable is not in uniform, documentary evidence that he is a constable; and
(ii) whether he is in uniform or not, the matters specified in subsection (3) below;
s.2(3)(a)the constable’s name and the name of the police station to which he is attached.

As she wasn’t arrested before they tried to confiscate the phone, i assume that this is the bit that applies. For further fascinating reading the whole PACE act is here:
http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/legResults.aspx?LegType=All+Legislation&title=Police+and+Criminal+Evidence+Act+&searchEnacted=0&extentMatchOnly=0&confersPower=0&blanketAmendment=0&sortAlpha=0&TYPE=QS&PageNumber=1&NavFrom=0&activeTextDocId=1871554

But when I read it again last year, it didn’t seem nearly so bad, I’m used to half of the stuff in that book by now.

I believe that refers only to audio recording, which is largely illegal without giving notice of being recorded. Photography/videography is generally legal on public property, and certainly on one’s own private property. There are numerous “Photographer’s Rights” web sites and info available, (for example, http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm).

I wonder what people would think if you put a printed EULA type notice on your doors “By entering these premises you agree to be photographed, video recorded and audio recorded….”

It’s the suck, but it could well be the end of the suck.

Seriously, who would hand over a phone to any crazy mugger just claiming he/she was police but wouldn’t prove it?

Also, anyone who claims to be a police officer but refuses to prove it is now Impersonating a Police Officer, which is illegal. If they are one they have to prove it if asked. That’s kind of how the law works.