Another Report on the Police State

Did you realize that you can now be questioned by police and detained if you take a photo of a building that, in the officer's mind, has no aesthetic value? Yup, folks, it's come to that.

I took a 2 1/2-hour walk through downtown this morning with the historical society. We checked out examples of Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and other architectural styles. I took photos of crumbling walls and old paint. Now to me that kind of thing is interesting and has a quirky beauty to it, but what would a police officer have said?

This has come to light because of an incident with a Long Beach reporter who was detained for taking a photo of a refinery. This is the same police department as I have called and complained about numerous times--the ones who fly their damn helicopters so close they shake the windows.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

[Police Chief Jim McDonnell said] while there is no police training specific to determining whether a photographer's subject has "apparent esthetic value," officers make such judgments "based on their overall training and experience" and will generally approach photographers not engaging in "regular tourist behavior."

This policy apparently falls under the rubric of compiling Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) as outlined in the Los Angeles Police Department's Special Order No. 11, a March 2008 statement of the LAPD's "policy … to make every effort to accurately and appropriately gather, record and analyze information, of a criminal or non-criminal nature, that could indicate activity or intentions related to either foreign or domestic terrorism."

Among the non-criminal behaviors "which shall be reported on a SAR" are the usage of binoculars and cameras (presumably when observing a building, although this is not specified), asking about an establishment's hours of operation, taking pictures or video footage "with no apparent esthetic value," and taking notes.

McDonnell says that LBPD policy is "on-line" with all instructions contained in Special Order No. 11, "as is everyone else [i.e., other police departments] around the country."


LBPD is in compliance with the Los Angeles Police Department's policy.

What's very interesting--and disturbing--about the above is that 1) the suspicious behaviors described are the things a reporter does--take pictures, ask questions, take notes, and 2) this is a unified policy across the country--once again the dissolution of local police departments into a national police force.