Section 44 of the Terrorism Act of 2000, which is responsible for the harassment of thousands of photographers across Britain, may very well be on its way out if Lord Carlile has his way. According to the London Evening Standard Lord Carlile, who is responsible for reviewing terror legislation:

said the use of Section 44 powers was having a “disproportionately bad effect on community relations” and had become “counter-productive” in the fight against terrorism.

He also revealed that not a single arrest for terrorism offences and only “morsels” of intelligence had resulted from more than 200,000 such searches carried out last year — 151,000 in the Metropolitan Police area alone.

Lord Carlile said this lack of success meant it was now time to repeal the legislation.

Police forces on this side of the pond should take heed. Harassing innocent photographers who are not breaking any laws serves no purpose other than to make people lose respect for authority and the law. Although the US does not have an equivalent law, police forces here are taking it upon themselves to act as though we do. All it has accomplished is to make photographers resent the police who harass them. As Lord Carlile said:

“The power given by Section 44 continues to cause a disproportionately bad effect on community relations, with the often inaccurate but genuinely felt belief that it is used in a discriminatory way. It has certainly been used in some instances without reason, let alone suspicion.”

Photographers know it all too well.

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