Photographers slam police over 'indecent' photos

Photographers slam police over 'indecent' photos Multi-award winning photographer Don Morley says two off-duty police officers adopted 'bully-boy' tactics when they stopped him, and a friend, in Guildford city centre, Surrey, on 27 June. Morley, a retired press photographer, said the pair had been capturing general street scenes that included a shot of two musicians and a picture of a boy taken through the window of a shop. More uniformed officers emerged at the top of the high street - making a total of six. Morley said the ordeal lasted for 1/2 an hour and took place in full view of shoppers: 'This is the first time I have been stopped by police since I started my career in 1957. The photographers gave police their names, when asked, but declined to provide their addresses. The photographers, who were not arrested, were only allowed to leave the area once police had reviewed their shots and satisfied themselves that none of the images were indecent. The pair say they were initially questioned for up to 20 minutes, during which time one of the officers located the family of the boy and appeared to talk to them about making a complaint. 'I was very disturbed by all this,' added Lockley. 'You would have thought we had robbed a bank or something. I don't want any of that on my computer. 'They more or less apologised but said they had been obliged to investigate. 'The uniformed police. Lockley, a former managing director of a building materials firm, told AP: 'We said we were in a public place - we didn't need permission. The incident, which took place close to Guildford High Street at lunchtime, was witnessed by a passing lawyer who berated the off-duty officers. 'He told them, in far better legalese, that they were not only completely out of order, but that it was also this type of bully-boy behaviour that was giving the police a bad name, and turning us into a police state,' Morley told AP. Surrey Police had yet to respond to a request for comment at the time of writing. However, a police source expressed surprise, telling AP: 'We have very strict guidelines from ACPO [Association of Chief Police Officers]. I was just appalled with the whole day. Moments later, uniformed officers arrived in two squad cars. 'They demanded we delete what we had taken because there was a toddler, part-shown, in one picture (see above). 'We looked at each other and said "this has buggered the day". Morley said he is thinking about lodgingan official complaint against Surrey Police. Morley described the manner of the uniformed police as 'professional and courteous' as the photographers showed the officers their digital pictures. The pair were permitted to walk away from the scene, but the officers had called for police back up. Photographers slam police over 'indecent' photos Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 03/07/2012