Long Beach Police Chief: hold us photographers and I have not all guidelines for that policy, photography is classified with attempts to acquire weaponized smallpox

The Long Beach Police Chief confirmed that his Department policy is to have photographers that nothing more to take photographs in public places, and that he has no plans to implement, all the guidelines for the detentions. He classes photography with another "suspicious activity" such as "attempts to acquire illegal or illicit biological agents (anthrax, ricin, Eboli, smallpox, etc.)" and "in his possession, or use, explosives (for illegal purposes)". ""

"If one sees someone taking pictures of something like a refinery," says McDonnell, "" the onus to the agent to make contact with the person."" McDonnell went to say that if such contact becomes detention depends on the circumstances that the agent.

McDonnell, said that, while there is no specific police training to determine whether the subject of the photographer has "apparent aesthetic value", officers make these judgments "based on their overall training and experience" and will generally join the photographers do not engage in "regular tourist behaviour."

This policy is apparently falls under the rubric of compile suspicious activity reports (SAR) as described in order special No. 11 of Los Angeles Police Department, a statement March 2008 "policy of LAPD... to strive with precision and properly collect, record and analyse information, criminal or non-criminal, which could indicate activity or intentions related to terrorism, domestic or foreign".

The Chief of police confirmed detaining photographers in departmental policy

(Image: Perfection, an image of the Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) of the omaromar photostream)