ASKED in Parliament last Friday by Naparima MP Rodney Charles to say whether there is a policy on members of the public recording police officers going about their work, Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds gave a worrying reply.
'While there is neither a law nor a policy which prevents citizens from taking photographs or video recordings,' Mr Hinds said, 'citizens are advised that recordings should be done at a safe distance between the parties involved, so as not to obstruct officers.'
The minister strongly implied a possible connection between filming and the offence of obstructing the police, as well as the offence of harassment.
He added: 'While photographing or videoing an officer on duty is not per se unlawful or illegal, members of the public would be well advised to note the relevant provisions of the Police Service Act and the Offences Against the Person Act…both of which provide that continuously doing so in a manner described above can amount to harassment and lead to arrests and charges.'
The minister, who is an attorney by training as well as a former police officer who once trained recruits, should understand the power of these words. His bringing into play offences that are unlikely to be relevant to scenarios in which people film was not only gratuitous. It was dangerous.
It gives officers licence to perpetuate that which is often captured by the cameras: abuse of power.
How many instances have there been of people with mobile phones physically getting in the way of police by doing so?
'There have been many prosecutions,' Mr Hinds said vaguely in reply to a supplemental question about training last Friday, without providing details.
What has been bountiful, however, are the cases involving an entirely different offence: malicious prosecution.
Only last month, two sisters who reportedly filmed police officers who came inside their home after receiving information were awarded $110,000 in damages because the court determined they had been wrongly arrested.
If people who record the police are guilty of something, it is more likely to be having courage to the point of risking their lives.
No one has yet fully explained the circumstances surrounding the death of pregnant mother Ornella Greaves, 30, who two years ago died of a bullet wound after she dared to film the police response to a protest in Beetham Gardens.
Mr Hinds should be expressing gratitude for those who have - not in this country alone - used their phones to document the misdeeds of officers who are otherwise never caught or go punished. He should also be seeking to expedite the more widespread use of body cameras.
Instead, the minister's words can serve only one purpose: to bring about a chilling effect on 'citizen journalism' which amounts to a non-parliamentary qualification of constitutional rights and freedoms.
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