Filming Garda

ENET

Hey,

So the other day I was stopped by a Garda on my motorbike.
The Garda was very very angry and was acting really aggressively and inappropriately.

I wanted to film him at the time to prove this, but I wasn't sure of the laws surrounding it, and didn't want to push my luck.

Can anyone tell me if and when it is legal to film the police?


Thanks in advance!

hallo dare

ENET wrote: »

Hey,

So the other day I was stopped by a Garda on my motorbike.
The Garda was very very angry and was acting really aggressively and inappropriately.

I wanted to film him at the time to prove this, but I wasn't sure of the laws surrounding it, and didn't want to push my luck.

Can anyone tell me if and when it is legal to film the police?


Thanks in advance!

I don't know exactly, but I guess if you inform him that you are recording for your own safety, that you feel intimidated, then there's not a lot he can say.

Only guessing, I'm sure someone has an answer.

EDIT: You may find your answer here.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056494236

rab!dmonkey

My understanding is that anything in view from a public place is fair game for recording (so long as you aren't harassing someone in doing so). I'm not aware of any restrictions on filming Gardaí.

Bepolite

Would a helmet cam have picked up things you didn't want? Perhaps like the reason you were pulled over and the guard was so annoyed?

Little CuChulainn

No real restriction on it. You'd better be sure you have everything in order though.

huwants2no

From my experience if you started videoing them you'd end up with a charge sheet and if u weren't doing anything illegal they'd make something up and charge u with that
The gards are unreal and it's only when u end up on the receiving end u realise that they can pretty much do what they like to u so I wouldn't try and wind them up...doesn't work
****e state of affairs but believe me I know
Maybe a hidden cam would work

jezzer

i wouldnt chance it, essentially as i am aware there is no law against it, thats not to say the guard wouldnt make something up because they frequently do that if they take a dislike to you and want to do you for something and keep their numbers up which is what policing is all about these days

Muahahaha

I'm sure you could try to film it but if the Garda tells you not to film and it and you ignore his instruction then you're not following the directions of a Garda, which I think is an arrestable offence.

What happened in the lead up to the incident ? Were you driving the bike dangerously ? Because if you were and you got a stern talking to then I'm not surprised as I've had it myself when they caught me speeding on a motorbike. The Garda was a motorcyclist traffic corp member himself and told me of the many motorbike accidents he's attended and the inevitable hospitalisation that often results. He have me a wake up call that I needed so I took the lesson, points and fine on the chin and got on with riding more safely.

Roubled

Anytime I've had the gardai attempt to stop me taking photos or filming they usually quote some umbrella law like "section 20 of the ...public order act" or something that sounds official. When they've threatened me with arrest if I didn't stop filming I usually have. However on occasions when I refused and told them they could go ahead and arrest me they've never gone thorough with it. I personally think that in this day and age it should be allowed in law that a person can film and/or record anything the gardai do. This includes after being arrested. If the Gardai have nothing to hide they have nothing to worry about. I've know quite a few people over the years who've been beaten in police custody in Dublin city. Being a Garda is a brutalising experience considering what they have to deal with and the constant cuts to their resources. Some of them I've know over the years were borderline sadists. It's all the more wonder that most of them do an excellent job and manage to maintain a sense of balance. Every possible safeguard should be in place to make sure the guardians of the law dont' act illegally themselves.

Bepolite

+1 on the above - I know I usally side with the guards but I have to agree with the above. There is no reason why they all shouldn't have cameras permentaly on at this stage.

Little CuChulainn

Bepolite wrote: »

+1 on the above - I know I usally side with the guards but I have to agree with the above. There is no reason why they all shouldn't have cameras permentaly on at this stage.

AGS are terrified of data protection issues and spending money

conorh91

Little CuChulainn wrote: »

AGS are terrified of data protection issues and spending money

Yep.

I guarantee you if Gardai started to film everything, despite the best of intentions, you'd have that Digital Rights Ireland joker shrieking from a nearby perch for media attention, decrying mass surveillance.

From my own experience, any time I've been stopped by a member of AGS they have been more than polite, even amicable, including occasions where I was not displaying tax (delay in getting the paperwork for my car). I'm not saying there are no bad apples, of course.

BloodThirsty

Muahahaha wrote: »

I'm sure you could try to film it but if the Garda tells you not to film and it and you ignore his instruction then you're not following the directions of a Garda, which I think is an arrestable offence.
.

which means the garda can do as he pleases if he can define anything as not following the directions of a Garda,

Potus

ENET wrote: »

Hey,

So the other day I was stopped by a Garda on my motorbike.
The Garda was very very angry and was acting really aggressively and inappropriately.

I wanted to film him at the time to prove this, but I wasn't sure of the laws surrounding it, and didn't want to push my luck.

Can anyone tell me if and when it is legal to film the police?


Thanks in advance!

The only act governing video recording in a public place is the criminal justice (surveillance) act 2009 which only applies to the Garda Síochána, the defence forces and revenue and that act is not binding on other citizens. Therefore to my mind there is no prohibition on a person video recording members of the Garda Síochána if those members are present in a public place. In Atherton v. DPP (2005) Peart J in the High Court found that recording in a public place did not violate any constitutional rights to privacy.

BloodThirsty

Roubled wrote: »

Anytime I've had the gardai attempt to stop me taking photos or filming they usually quote some umbrella law like "section 20 of the ...public order act" or something that sounds official. When they've threatened me with arrest if I didn't stop filming I usually have. However on occasions when I refused and told them they could go ahead and arrest me they've never gone thorough with it. I personally think that in this day and age it should be allowed in law that a person can film and/or record anything the gardai do. This includes after being arrested. If the Gardai have nothing to hide they have nothing to worry about. I've know quite a few people over the years who've been beaten in police custody in Dublin city. Being a Garda is a brutalising experience considering what they have to deal with and the constant cuts to their resources. Some of them I've know over the years were borderline sadists. It's all the more wonder that most of them do an excellent job and manage to maintain a sense of balance. Every possible safeguard should be in place to make sure the guardians of the law dont' act illegally themselves.

And if he prosecutes you under public order will he have to say what threat you are to public order by filming him?

Roubled

BloodThirsty wrote: »

And if he prosecutes you under public order will he have to say what threat you are to public order by filming him?

I don't know because they never carried it through. I've had them order me away from an area using the same excuses.

I did ask two Gardai I know if I needed permission to take photos of them in public. "I don't think so" one replied. The other said "the one that pissed me off the most was the photos in the newspaper of two Garda taking a horse into custody. They blacked out the horse's face"

jezzer

Roubled wrote: »

Anytime I've had the gardai attempt to stop me taking photos or filming they usually quote some umbrella law like "section 20 of the ...public order act" or something that sounds official. When they've threatened me with arrest if I didn't stop filming I usually have. However on occasions when I refused and told them they could go ahead and arrest me they've never gone thorough with it. I personally think that in this day and age it should be allowed in law that a person can film and/or record anything the gardai do. This includes after being arrested. If the Gardai have nothing to hide they have nothing to worry about. I've know quite a few people over the years who've been beaten in police custody in Dublin city. Being a Garda is a brutalising experience considering what they have to deal with and the constant cuts to their resources. Some of them I've know over the years were borderline sadists. It's all the more wonder that most of them do an excellent job and manage to maintain a sense of balance. Every possible safeguard should be in place to make sure the guardians of the law dont' act illegally themselves.

the problem with the gardai is that they dont have the backing of the ordinary people and that is their own fault, it is all too obvious that they always go for the easy pull, its much easier to sit out the road with the hair dryer and do a lad for doing ten miles over the speed limit than it is to tackle real crime, lifting a drug dealer costs money as opposed to fining a motorist which makes money....when you really want a guard they are never there, fair enough, they shy away from doing real police duty but they dont have to be so horrible to joe public, granted some of them are sound and helpful but a lot of them have a great big chip on their shoulder and are dangerous people to cross, they will make up anything to nick you and keep their numbers up, best thing to do with the guards is have nothing to do with them because no matter which side of them you are on, they are of little use.

Little CuChulainn

jezzer wrote: »

the problem with the gardai is that they dont have the backing of the ordinary people and that is their own fault, it is all too obvious that they always go for the easy pull, its much easier to sit out the road with the hair dryer and do a lad for doing ten miles over the speed limit than it is to tackle real crime, lifting a drug dealer costs money as opposed to fining a motorist which makes money....when you really want a guard they are never there, fair enough, they shy away from doing real police duty but they dont have to be so horrible to joe public, granted some of them are sound and helpful but a lot of them have a great big chip on their shoulder and are dangerous people to cross, they will make up anything to nick you and keep their numbers up, best thing to do with the guards is have nothing to do with them because no matter which side of them you are on, they are of little use.

This is such bull****, generally thrown out by someone who's received a ticket or fine for something stupid they did. 1,000 Gardaí are injured every year. That's over 10% of the front line workers. That doesn't happen from sitting down with a hairdryer. Some Gardaí are designated specifically for certain duties. The traffic corps do traffic stuff. The drugs unit target drugs offenders. Giving out about these people doing their jobs is like giving out to the council bin collector because the road is in a state.

NipNip

If you argue with a garda, you will lose. That is the height of my knowledge of dealing with them! Breach of the peace is a great one to throw out.

BloodThirsty

NipNip wrote: »

If you argue with a garda, you will lose. That is the height of my knowledge of dealing with them! Breach of the peace is a great one to throw out.

if they are abusing their power it may be a malicious prosecution. if they claim taking a film of your interaction with them is in breach of public order i would like to be in court to see the case

google pat rossiter malicious prosecution and see seconf link down. it is not about filming but malicious prosecution

if a cop told me he would prosecute me on public order because i filmed his interaction with me i would tell him go ahead and would go quietly if arrested

NipNip

BloodThirsty wrote: »

if they are abusing their power it may be a malicious prosecution. if they claim taking a film of your interaction with them is in breach of public order i would like to be in court to see the case

google pat rossiter malicious prosecution and see seconf link down. it is not about filming but malicious prosecution

if a cop told me he would prosecute me on public order because i filmed his interaction with me i would tell him go ahead and would go quietly if arrested

You have CLEARLY never had any interaction with gardai lol!

BloodThirsty

NipNip wrote: »

You have CLEARLY never had any interaction with gardai lol!

you are very very wrong. i have stopped more than one cop bully boy but believe what you like
LOL

NipNip

BloodThirsty wrote: »

you are very very wrong. i have stopped more than one cop bully boy but believe what you like
LOL

How did that work out for you?

BloodThirsty

NipNip wrote: »

How did that work out for you?

lets just say they know where they stand with me and won't be using any threats to me un less they are prepared to back them up in court.

i should add it is nothing to do with the case i linked as an example of malicious prosecution. they are not as brave when they know someone will follow them legally

NipNip

In my experience, they WILL go to court and LIE if needs be!

Rucking_Fetard

http://m.slashdot.org/story/206129

branie2

Ever watch videos of police being filmed on YouTube?

whomitconcerns

most of the videos I have seen..the person doing the filming was in the wrong...or was one of those "freemen"

Peregrinus

BloodThirsty wrote: »

And if he prosecutes you under public order will he have to say what threat you are to public order by filming him?

He'll have to point to a specific section of the legislation which (he says) you are in breach of by filming. The section may or may not make any reference to public order.

branie2

In some of the videos, the response to questioning is "I don't answer questions".