USA – UK : 2 – 1

Three stories that made us laugh and cry at the same time.

by www.cnn.com
www.techdirt.com
www.digitaltrends.com

Dozens of teens detained after Philadelphia’s earlier curfew

Police on bicycles detain a minor for a curfew violation in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia (CNN) – Philadelphia police picked up 50 juveniles for violating the city’s beefed-up curfew which took effect Friday night, authorities said Saturday.

The City of Brotherly Love is cracking down after a rash of teen violence by roving mobs. Late Friday, there were no signs of trouble, police spokesman Ray Evers told CNN.
“It definitely made a tremendous difference,” he said, referring to the curfew.
Police patrolled the two areas under curfew, including downtown areas popular with locals and tourists during the Friday night curfew. The 50 teens are among the first charged with violating the newly strengthened city ordinance, which forbids anyone under 18 from being out on the street after 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays in two locations: Center City, in the downtown area, and University City, the west Philadelphia neighborhood where the University of Pennsylvania is located
.
An hour after the curfew took effect, police had taken 22 juveniles between the ages of 14 and 17 into custody, Evers said.
All 50 minors were cited with a code violation for breaking the curfew, and were not allowed to leave the police precinct until they were picked up by a parent or guardian. All 50 were picked up by Saturday morning, Evers said.
Mayor Michael Nutter announced the earlier curfew following a string of mob attacks by young people alerted to gatherings via email and social media.
“It’s a growing problem in this country,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said Friday.
Nutter delivered tough remarks in a church sermon last weekend that has received international attention — a blunt, no-excuses scolding that coincided with the start of the England riots.
An African-American, Nutter noted that those involved in the Philadelphia attacks are predominantly black and said their behavior damaged themselves and their race.
He upheld religious values, underscored the importance of parental discipline and lambasted absentee parents, particularly fathers, for neglecting and not keeping watch over their children.
Nutter’s measures target both young attackers and their parents or legal guardians.
He signed an order temporarily moving the curfew up an hour on Fridays and Saturdays for everyone under the age of 18 in the two targeted enforcement districts.
Throughout the rest of the city, the curfew will remain 10 p.m. for those under the age of 13 and midnight for minors between ages 13 and 18.
“Minors who are caught breaking curfew will be sent home, brought home or transported to a police station where their parents will be contacted. Minors may be issued a citation with a $100 to $300 fine for a first offense,” the city said in a news release.
If parents don’t come for their child “within a reasonable time, police will contact the Department of Human Services to start an investigation.”
Parents will receive a notice for first violations, and will be fined up to $500 for successive violations. They are also subject to imprisonment for up to 90 days for repeat curfew violation offenses, according to the city.
In addition, parents “whose child under the age of 18 is found liable or guilty by a court for injury, theft or other criminal acts” will be liable to the person who suffered the injury or loss of property,” the statement said.

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Police Say They Can Detain Photographers If Their Photographs Have ‘No Apparent Esthetic Value’

from the police-as-art-critics dept

Apparently the police in Long Beach, California, have a policy that says if a police officer determines that a photographer is taking photos of something with “no apparent esthetic value,” they can detain them. This revelation came after photographer Sander Roscoe Wolff was taking the following photo:

The police officer somehow determined that there couldn’t be esthetic value there, and thus, the photographer had to be detained and checked out. The police are defending this policy, saying that while officers don’t have any specific training in what qualifies as “apparent esthetic value,” they will stop anyone photographing things they don’t consider to be something a “regular tourist” would photograph. I actually have to go down to Long Beach next month for a speaking engagement, and I’m now tempted to take a bunch of photographs that have “no apparent esthetic value.”

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UK police arrest man for promoting a water gun fight with Blackberry, Facebook

A Nerf Super Soaker and a cooler packed full of water balloons are considered highly important by UK authorities. A man in Colchester, England got quite the surprise when arrested for planning some water-filled entertainment.

After attempting to promote some wholesome fun with water guns, a 20-year old Essex native was arrested and charged with “encouraging or assisting in the commission of an offense” under a 2007 law called the Serious Crime Act. Essex law enforcement officers claim that the man attempted to incite a flash mob and promoted the event through BlackBerry Messenger as well as a Facebook event page. The man was allegedly encouraging Colchester residents to gather for a city-wide water gun fight. The man was released on bail and has a court date on September 1 to face the charge.

BBM-iconDue to the recent outbreak of riots in Britain, national intelligence agency M15 has been given the task of monitoring cell phone accounts to determine who is using services like BlackBerry Messenger to incite violence or looting. However, Essex hasn’t seen this level of criminal behavior and it’s unclear if monitoring led to the water-related arrest. British Prime Minister David Cameron working with intelligence services to determine if the government should step in and stop people from communicating through social media if future violence is threatened.

A group of Iranian teenagers in central Tehran experienced a similar situation after being arrested for participating in a water pistol fight at a park. The group had promoted the event through Facebook as well. The students were arrested by the morality police, but released on bail two days later. The group is expected to be charged with publicly committing an act against Islam as well as insulting police officers.

While people in England argue over the right to monitor cell phone usage, citizens of the United States are having a similar discussion after the Bay Area Rapid Transit in San Francisco shut down wireless access and cell phone service for three hours. Police requested the shutdown based off a tip that a demonstration would be held to protest the July 3 shooting of a homeless man. However, the demonstration never materialized during that time.

sources:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/13/pennsylvania.curfew/

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110815/23584515540/police-say-they-can-detain-photographers-if-their-photographs-have-no-apparent-esthetic-value.shtml

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/uk-police-arrest-man-for-promoting-a-water-gun-fight-with-blackberry-facebook/