BRIGHTON, UNITED KINGDOM – 30.08.10. A police evidence bag with film shot by local man Glenn Williams of an anti-fascist protest. The film cassette was seized by police on the street under Section 19 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 on Monday 30 August 2010 Brighton, England. Early in the day police clashed with around 200 anti-fascist campaigners as around 40 far-right nationalist protesters congregated under heavy police protection. Police used dogs and horses to clear anti-fascist protesters blocking streets in Brighton to stop the far right march. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2010. All rights reserved.
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Audio: Police seize protesters film
On Monday I covered a protest in Brighton. I saw the police seize an anti-fascist protesters film cassette. The police used Section 19 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984. What I found out is of great concern for photographers, journalists, media activists and especially New York fund managers.
Below is part of Section 19 of PACE:
(3) The constable may seize anything which is on the premises if he has reasonable grounds for believing —
(a) that it is evidence in relation to an offence which he is investigating or any other offence; and
(b) that it is necessary to seize it in order to prevent the evidence being concealed, lost, altered or destroyed.
So is it lawful for the police to seize media content from a member of the public on the street? It all comes down to the PACE definition of premises.
You can find that definition in Section 23.
The definition includes two very chilling words, “any place”.
I asked human rights lawyer Anna Mazzola from Hickman & Rose for her view on the use of Section 19 in a public order context.
“This episode reveals a worrying policy. Sussex police clearly think that Section 19 entitles them to remove film and footage from people where they suspect they have evidence of a crime and they can say that they have reason to believe the person may destroy that evidence. That is disturbing news for journalists and amateur photographers, particularly those covering public order events. While the police obviously have a duty to prevent and detect crime, they also have to provide some assurance that they will not use Section 19 to seize journalistic material.”
