British police target 'suspicious' photographers

A five-week London Metropolitan Police poster and advert campaign started this month asking the public to report suspicious behaviour – and one of the three ‘themes’ is odd looking people using cameras.

Ads will be placed with London’s major newspapers and main commercial radio stations. Advertising will also run in the Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and the West Midlands.

The campaign has already outraged the professional photographic community in general as it invites interference by the public who may not understand simple things like waiting for the right light, or a ‘decisive moment’ as people move around in a street. Professional equipment may look suspicious, though the poster shows a point and shoot digital camera.

– DK