So yesterday was an interesting one, it ended up with a policeman at my door - all because I was just doing a job.
I was doing a BPO drive-by photo audit of a house (in my town). I literally did not even get out of my vehicle but stopped along the other side of the street opposite the house to take my photos out the open window. Then my phone camera kept kicking into Portrait mode (focusing close up) so it took me longer than the 3 -5 seconds I can usually manage.

Welp, the homeowner must have been watching out the window because he appeared on the porch and yelled at me demanding "What are you doing??" I replied, I am just taking pictures of the house.
Then he asked "Why?" and I replied "Because I was asked to" ... duh.
He then held up his phone and photographed my vehicle driving away.

I am like, yeah go ahead buddy. Good luck with that.

Well damn if there wasn't an officer at my door about 30 minutes later. LOL !!
Of course when I explained that it was the work I do he was like, "Yeah, I kind of figured that is what it was" and told me no worries, I wasn't doing anything illegal and not to be concerned.
I thanked him and he was on his way.

The kicker - I was photographing the wrong house. It was the one next door.
I had to go back today to redo it (the time limit wasn't over yet so no penalty).
I definitely held my breath and snapped those pics as fast as I could and got the hell outta Dodge!!

This is when dispatchers need to tell people that someone taking photos in a public space (re: the public street) is not a crime and it is not something that should involve the police. Legally, you did not owe the police officer any explanation. If he or she has probable cause to believe a crime has been committed, they are welcome to go get a warrant. There was no probable cause here obviously, and what you were doing was not the business of the government. Period. It is another matter if step onto private property.

Respect law enforcement, but don't be intimidated by them. We have to start standing up for our rights. We are the ones who have them, not the police. The boundary has been blurred and it is time to take it back.

My concern about these type of jobs are trigger-happy homeowners.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2025 04:56AM by ServiceAward.

Yes, agree but I was not intimidated.

The officer was very polite and bordered on being a bit embarassed that he even had to come and ask. He did state that there has been a rash of car burlaries lately and that people get a bit jumpy because of it.

On the plus side, he was damned good looking!! LOL.

Yes, you have rights, but if you are doing nothing wrong, why be difficult to a police officer who is being respectful? Ever hear the phrase, "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"

So many of these police incidents that get out of hand are because the citizen wants to do whatever they want and thinks it's their right to do so. I agree there are police that are out of control, but it's a crap job to have to deal with the scum of the earth daily and when you are trying to be nice, someone wants to be a jerk just because they have the right to do so.

Remember, cops are trained to not lose, so if you escalate a situation, they in turn will escalate. You will always lose because they have the guns and the unlimited resources on their side. Even if you can prove you were right, it's not worth the fight (most of the time).

But that is funny as heck....photographing the WRONG house only to come back again to do it right the next time!

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

Yes, you have rights, but if you are doing nothing wrong, why be difficult to a police officer who is being respectful? Ever hear the phrase, "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"

No, you don't. Flies love rotten stuff. If you wanna catch bees or humming birds, put out honey.

It’s actually, “You can catch flies with honey, but you catch more honeys bein fly.”

In all seriousness, what a crazy story. Be glad you live in a town (I’m assuming) with responsive and polite police officers. Where I live, there would be no officer available to respond to such a frivolous call so quickly or at all.

@weatherman2111 wrote:

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

Yes, you have rights, but if you are doing nothing wrong, why be difficult to a police officer who is being respectful? Ever hear the phrase, "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"

No, you don't. Flies love rotten stuff. If you wanna catch bees or humming birds, put out honey.

I agree the incident doesn't rise to the level of police involvement and the homeowner overreacted, BUT
put yourself in his shoes for a moment.
Wouldn't you wonder why someone was taking photos of your house?
If it were me and I saw it, I might walk over and ask, provided they had not dashed off already.

As far as cops go, there are good ones and there are bad ones, just like people everywhere - of course the bad ones can make things worse for you. Pick your battles wisely, I say.

I might be annoyed but I would not call the police UNLESS I was in a domestic violence situtation or there was a custody battle, etc.. You just don't know what is going on in people's lives, so that shop did carry a small risk. In most places around the world, a current photo of your house resides in Google maps/Google Earth. Most all of my neighbors have security cameras they can monitor 24/7 so my house can be caught in an image at any time.

I see it happens to others too. Not the police part. The part about being slick and snapping a photo without drawing attention, then your camera has a mind of its own and people look at you weird while you fumble with it.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

Yes, you have rights, but if you are doing nothing wrong, why be difficult to a police officer who is being respectful? Ever hear the phrase, "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"

So many of these police incidents that get out of hand are because the citizen wants to do whatever they want and thinks it's their right to do so. I agree there are police that are out of control, but it's a crap job to have to deal with the scum of the earth daily and when you are trying to be nice, someone wants to be a jerk just because they have the right to do so.

Remember, cops are trained to not lose, so if you escalate a situation, they in turn will escalate. You will always lose because they have the guns and the unlimited resources on their side. Even if you can prove you were right, it's not worth the fight (most of the time).

The issue is not whether you have done something wrong. The issue is about setting a firm boundary. Our rights are precious in this country. They are unique. No place else on this earth is like the United States, which is why people like me so vigorously defend it and want the very best for it. Speaking up for your rights isn't being difficult. It is what we are expected to do. You can do it in a respectful, polite way and that is how it should be done.

You are right. Many police incidents get out of hand because citizens think they have every right to act a fool. In almost all of those incidents police have reason to believe a crime has been committed. That is an entirely different situation than what happened in the OP's situation. The only information the police officer had was that the OP was parked in front of a home and took photos. While that is an activity a homeowner may not like, and I do understand that, it is nevertheless a perfectly legal thing to do as long as one is in a public space. There is no crime there. There is no reason to believe a crime has been committed. If police are not investigating something that isn't a crime, there is no need to worry something will get out of hand. It is fine if a police officer wants to go out and talk to the homeowner. But if no other information is gathered other than someone was taking photos from the street, the officer needs to tell that homeowner there has been no crime and there is nothing that can be done. Period. No need to waste time and go any further.

In @gigishopper's scenario where the street photographer is an abuser, that is also a different situation. Assuming there is a protective order in effect, a deadbeat husband standing in front of a battered wife's (or girlfriend's) home taking photos could result in criminal charges. The issue isn't the taking of photos per se, but being within a certain number of feet of the wife/girlfriend would be the criminal act.

People are free to handle things as they wish. But I believe a lot of our problems stem from giving government too much power, often in the name of trying to be nice or picking battles. I gladly pick my battles and I am a nice person (I really am.) Anytime I see a police officer, serviceman, fireman, etc., I always shake their hand and tell them I appreciate their service. I do. I have family in law enforcement and I personally know many people in law enforcement. Standing my ground on these other issues isn't personal against them, it is standing against what and who they represent.

I agree with most of what you say, but I also think it's not that big of a deal to easily explain what you did. Whether they have the right to know that or not, is not the issue (to me). I want to "help" the police when I can. If that means giving them harmless information about a mysteryshop I was conducting, then I'm okay with it. The police are getting so much "pushback" from everyone else in society, that I want to make it easier for them when it's not harmful to do so (like telling them about a mysteryshop for photos).

I do agree Americans have lost many rights to an over-reaching govt. Just a few years ago people were losing jobs because they were mandated to take a medication and some refused. The courts eventually ruled against it, but people were harmed by an over-reaching government in the process.

Imagine that. Whenever I engage in peaceful protest, I get called anti-American.
ok, off topic.

I was doing a de-brand a few days ago and had to get a lot of photos in a location that was extremely barren and I was the only customer. When I was doing the final curb appeal photo, one of the employees came out, took a pic of me and then pulled out a gun! I beat a hasty retreat. It was in a different state from where I live so I hope the police haven't gone to my house.

These de-brand gas stations with the guns obviously are NOT in California. If they were, there would be much less crime. If as a city/state, you are going to allow lawlessness....that's what you can expect to have happen. I know they recently passed a law rescinding the previous nonsense.

I remember during the Rodney King riots with the Korean liquor store owners on the roofs with their ak-47 and ar-15s. Guess who's businesses did not get robbed, looted or burned?

When I was in Omaha a few months back, I watched 3 punk teenagers walk into CVS around 10pm and walk out laughing with whatever they stole. I asked the clerk up front why they don't do anything. He said he can't. And that is why CVS is losing their butts and closing locations in all the major craphole cities that allow this kind of stuff to continue. Not that I want to see people killed over stealing, but I betcha if people were getting shot for stealing, there might be quite a bit fewer people attempting it.

Walmart employees get fired for hindering people who are stealing and for helping folks in need. The same with most large corporation retail stores. The excuse they give is that community involvement costs them money and endangers their employees. Convenience stores tell their people to let the theives go because trying to stop the bad guys can get them killed.

Give the bad guys what they want, call the cops and file a report later, you stay alive and the insurance company covers the cost. The insurance company can't replace people, only money.

@Morledzep wrote:

Walmart employees get fired for hindering people who are stealing and for helping folks in need. The same with most large corporation retail stores. The excuse they give is that community involvement costs them money and endangers their employees. Convenience stores tell their people to let the theives go because trying to stop the bad guys can get them killed.

Give the bad guys what they want, call the cops and file a report later, you stay alive and the insurance company covers the cost. The insurance company can't replace people, only money.

That's funny. I have been to multiple stores where the shrink leads stopped shoplifters on their way out of the store right in front of me.

I have had people call the police a few times over the years when I have been doing a house verification taking pictures. I had people tell me that they were going to "call the cops on me". I have been sitting in my car doing my report when the police have showed up. I explain to them what I am doing and show them my LOA and they go on their way. I have never had the police called on me when I've taken pictures of businesses. And employees have been outside at the time, and they don't pay any attention to what ai am doing.