Student photographer needs legal advice

[lkWinnipesaukee]

Hey guys,

I'm a high school photographer for my school newspaper. Last Friday, there was a bomb threat (or some other threat) for the prom (last night) and this upcoming Monday. The same thing happened last year and the year before, so I want to do a story (or column) on it.

I was wondering if it was legal for me to take photographs on public high school grounds (is it considered public property). I wanted to take pictures of police presence around the school, but an concerned with them trying to take away my memory card (or worse, my camera).

I know if I am taking pictures from public property, nobody can take away my camera or memory card, but what about in school, and pictures of police presence?

 

[Sw1tchFX]

ask your school.

 

[DSLR noob]

If you go to that school, it isn't loitering, you ARE a student, and educational is federally related, but not in the sense that the governemnt owns that building. Don't listen to security guards only police. the guards can only hold you till police arrive, then you can talk with the officer. your rights will have you free and they'll just advise you to not do it again ,but even if you did, it is legal. Waht'll probably happen is no one will care.

 

[Mike_E]

Ask your school but have an idea about how you want to angle your story. You are going to have to sell it to the authorities before you can shoot it. What you do after is between you and your conscious.

 

[lkWinnipesaukee]

I wrote a column (just finished it up and editing now) about the (lets face it) bloody idiot and how much trouble this has caused. With the picture I want is to emphasize this, i.e., show how several police officer's time has been wasted, how few people are going to be at school on Monday because of the threat. I want it to be hard-hitting, towards the person who commited the crime.

I'm envisioning a picture of a cop looking down the halls with next to no one in it.

Anyway, I know I can take pictures of anything in a public school. Fox News recently did a piece on school security in which they had a camera and tried to get inside several schools (and did, and filmed it). I just need to find the appropriate law to prove it, in case I am stopped for whatever reason.

 

[lkWinnipesaukee]

Well, as I write this in class, I have seen not a single police officer. Boy, do we feel safe in here...

Anyway, thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, there were no police officers to photograph, so I don't really have a story.

 

[shorty6049]

i'm guessing theres no officers because its happened (and turned out to be a false alarm) 3 years in a row now... not that it CANT happen, so you'd think there'd still be police , but i would think it could still be a good story even without photos

 

[skieur]

There is no law that specifies what you can take photos of, because you can take photos of almost anything with the exception of state secrets and inside the courts.

skieur