Hello Everyone. I have a simple question: Is it possible to observe the police carry out their duties without being considered interfering? If so at what distance can a citizens observe? 

Depends what you mean by "observe". I'll assume you mean watching the police perform their duties at some situation, then yeah, that's perfectly fine. Just don't get too close.

But i'm sure you should know the difference between observing and interfering.

Depends what you mean by "observe". I'll assume you mean watching the police perform their duties at some situation, then yeah, that's perfectly fine. Just don't get too close.

But i'm sure you should know the difference between observing and interfering.

Could I get close enough to hear whats going on. Maybe 10 feet or so. To ensure the citizen was being treated fairly?

Could I get close enough to hear whats going on. Maybe 10 feet or so. To ensure the citizen was being treated fairly?

You can get as close as the officers deem is safe. For your own safety, you stay way back to ensure that the officers can feel safe, and not disrupted.

I don't see any reason for you to walk that close, imo. 

^ Exactly

You know I think I should go ahead and point out here that it is not a right to record the police. 

You can go on a ride-along, so you'll see every thing that goes on. Unless you're talking about a particular incident.

You know I think I should go ahead and point out here that it is not a right to record the police. 

Aren't there several court rulings that make it a right? You have to obey several rules, of course, but it is generally a right. 

(...) To ensure the citizen was being treated fairly?

It doesn't work this way at all, someone who's a 'person of interest' for police may file a complaint if he thinks his right were violated. You, as a 3rd party street corner lawyer, might become a person of interest by yourself while trying to protect a potential offender from being fairly treated by PD (eg. lawful usage of force) (because you don't know the whole story, right?)

Edited July 31, 201510 yr by LtFlash

You can go on a ride-along, so you'll see every thing that goes on. Unless you're talking about a particular incident.

Aren't there several court rulings that make it a right? You have to obey several rules, of course, but it is generally a right. 

 

You know I think I should go ahead and point out here that it is not a right to record the police. 

You absolutely do have the right to record the police. I've heard that police officers, under specific circumstances, can ask you to stop recording and taking photographs of them; but under no circumstances can they legally seize that footage or force you to delete it.

http://www.aclupa.org/issues/policepractices/your-right-record-and-observe-police/taking-photos-video-and-audio/

http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/13/6000833/you-have-a-right-to-record-the-police

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/02/19/ctn-pkg-ripley-right-to-record-police.cnn-ap

Edited August 1, 201510 yr by TheDivineHustle

Everyone has the right to observe and even record the police in this country. So long as it does not interfere with with the police activity or endanger yourself or others around it. It really depends on the situation. Obviously in it is something like a active shooter or a armed suspect at large they are allowed to remove you from the area or even detain you.

Very simple. Yes you can observe/record police, but please be smart about it. Don't get hung up on a fixed distance - ie someone here tells you 25 feet and you end up getting in an argument with cops in real life because you heard on the interwebz that 25 feet was allowed. It's likely going to be situation dependent based on the crime, number of suspects/victims/officers, whether or not it's in a roadway, etc. 

Also, please don't be the street lawyer. Record if you want, but don't start interjecting yourself into what the police are doing. You don't know federal, state, local laws (and guaranteed you dont know department policies) as well as the officers. The time for arguing with police is in the court room, not the street. 

The sad thing is that what you see on YouTube is what people would want you to see and usually doesn't encapsulate the entirety of the situation which changes the perception of public minds and exploded bias on the media. I do encourage people to do 'Ride-Alongs' and participate in their local police department's volunteer programs because it can immerse yourself into the inner workings and experiences of and understandings of a department, how police operate and why they do things. It is ignorance to assume without actually putting forth the effort to understand why as well as the decisions police make in split-second situations that can change lives. Participating in 'Ride-Alongs' opens up your world to what an officer does on a day-to-day basis, the opportunity to see them in action and ask them questions during the time allotted should not be wasted, there is a reason for everything done, and at the end of the day they want to go home just like you or I.

As far as the officer needs you to be. Officer safety is a big issue when it comes to observers. They don't know you, they can't identify you or if you know the person they are dealing with. What if an "observer" is related to a suspect being detained and happens to want to attack the officer since he has the opportunity. Observers can be dangers and that's why officers tend to claim a person is interfering. It's more of a officer safety thing than anything.

As far as the officer needs you to be. Officer safety is a big issue when it comes to observers. They don't know you, they can't identify you or if you know the person they are dealing with. What if an "observer" is related to a suspect being detained and happens to want to attack the officer since he has the opportunity. Observers can be dangers and that's why officers tend to claim a person is interfering. It's more of a officer safety thing than anything.

This. I don't mean to be rude, but its better if you don't stand there and watch what the officers are doing.

They don't know who you are, and if you're not related to the situation, you really have no business being there. It's just going to put the officer on edge, wondering if you're a friend of his suspect waiting to knife him in the back.

Or worse, if the suspect gets loose, who do you think he's going to use as a hostage if he gets ahold of a weapon? I'll give you a hint...its not going to be the armed police officer.

If you want to watch the police up close, go on a ride along. They'll make you fill out paperwork and sign a waiver, but you get to ride in the cruiser, and if the officer is nice, he may let you turn on the lights for him on a traffic stop. And when he responds to a call, you get to see everything.

 

Hello Everyone. I have a simple question: Is it possible to observe the police carry out their duties without being considered interfering? If so at what distance can a citizens observe? 

In my eyes, I think that citizens can observe from any distance they want. As long as it's public property and it's not private property, 

 

On 8/18/2015 at 2:31 PM, SJNGamingofficial said:

In my eyes, I think that citizens can observe from any distance they want. As long as it's public property and it's not private property, 

I'm kind of surprised I just stumbled onto this topic now, but this is going to vary widely depending on where you live. You in particular are from the UK, so I couldn't tell you what your laws are, since I live in America. However in America, it will differ depending on what state you're in, and laws are constantly changing. I'd like to point out a few things.

- In general, country wide: Nobody can have the expectation of privacy when in public. In other words: Nobody has the right to privacy outside or in any other public space, this includes police officers. Only when in your house or a place of business are you guaranteed the right to privacy. This is why most news crews have to film outside of a location of interest instead of in it. State law may permit them to film, but the owner of the building can tell them to f*** off, so you'll often see reporters standing across the street from a place of interest since they are not allowed on the property. It's also one of the reasons over the years people have seen a decrease in the need to blur faces of people out for television. This has been supported by numerous court cases all across the country, many of which have been specifically about the right to film police activity.

- Laws will change from state to state and in my opinion depend largely on political activists in the state repeatedly challenging cops who try and get you to stop filming. Police will usually do this through intimidation first, then by citing some kind of law against it (whether it exists or not) and it may escalate to physical force. You shouldn't let it get to that level, because despite the fact that a police officer cannot confiscate your property for no reason, as it's a violation of your fourth amendment right to prevent illegal search and seizure, just simply struggling against an attempt of a cop to pry an iPhone from your hand can be written up in a report as resisting arrest or assault. Most of the time, recording the police is a lot more trouble than its worth. Because in order for these laws to change, a lot of arrests have to happen first where people repeatedly go to court and beat the case. Let some other ass**** do it. I would only record the police if you find them to be repeatedly unfair to you, have negatively shifted changed the tone of a conversation during a traffic stop where you fear for your physical safety, or you're at a good distance and you see them outright hurting somebody. Make sure you study the laws in your state very closely. Some states require you to inform a person you're filming that you are about to film them before the camera turns on. Some of them require you to ask for permission. Some states have no clear legislation about filming at all. Some states let you film all you want.

If you're afraid of all police encounters in general, the problem likely lies with you, but you can mitigate the risk of a police officer attempting to stop you from filming by doing a few important things:

1.) Obey the law.

2.) Mind your own business.

3.) Shut the f*ck up when he's talking to you and don't argue. That won't make him or her go away.

4.) Don't shove a camera in his/her face. You can record respectfully with a hand held camera. See the 'superspeedersrob' YouTube channel for a lesson on how to do that by viewing some of the 'Best Cop Moments' videos, and seeing how the camera is positioned.

5.) Don't be a YouTube constitutionalist who says "Am I being detained? Am I free to go? I know my rights!". 99% of those people don't know their rights, they only know what they've seen on the internet, and the majority of those videos are about people who specifically try to bait officers into a confrontation. Studies show that about 42% Americans can only name a single branch of our own government, and 35% cannot name any branch of our government, and a majority of them do not know what the bill of rights is. About 66% do not know what the Food & Drug Administration does. About half of all Americans do not know that each state has two senators, and slightly more than half cannot name their congressman. The average voter thinks that foreign aid makes up 24% of America's budget each year. It's actually less than 1%. As of 2014, most Americans thought the country's unemployment rate was 32%... It was 5.8%

24% of people could not name the country we fought in the Revolutionary War. Yes, you read that correctly. (You're off the hook, England, congrats!) And a Gallop Poll showed that 18% of Americans think that the sun revolves around the earth. Sometimes I can't even believe I'm sharing the same continent with these people.

 This is not a population of people who can outsmart the police. They need to either read up, or cut the s***.

6.) Hiding the camera probably isn't any better of an idea than trying to shove it in their face.

7.) Buy a dash cam, point it at the window they're approaching when stopped. When the cops say "How's it going today? I'm Officer ________ with the _________ Police Department. Just letting you know this conversation is being recorded on dash cam.", you now have the option of saying "Okay, same here." Dash cams are about $100 on average and can be a great tool in defending you against citations you don't deserve.

8.) Support police in your town getting body cameras. Most major P.D.'s have them and a lot of small town agencies are starting to get them. The fact that they have a camera on them will make yours largely irrelevant, meaning they won't care if you're filming or not so long as you don't obstruct their business.

The bottom line is that not only is this country changing, but this planet is changing. The digital age has ushered us into a world where nothing we say or do is private anymore. Everything is going to be monitor-able, like it or not, and eventually all police agencies are going to have to adjust for that just based on the fact that they are now equipped with body cams. For now, worry about yourself first and consider what I said above to keep yourself out of trouble. Overall, there are very few instances where you really need to record the police. I've been stopped about 8 times in my life (most of them within the same couple of years because I was young and stupid) by the police, and each interaction was perfectly fine with the exception of one with a cop who had a bad attitude, but even that one let me off with a verbal warning about my speed because I didn't give him any actual problems (he just had to make them up and swear at me instead to vent his frustrations). Even if that had been on tape it would have just resulted in me maybe filing a complaint about his conduct with his chief which likely would have resulted in nothing happening. Some people have a bad attitude and there's not much I can do about that.

Edited January 7, 201610 yr by unr3al