VietNamNet Bridge - Traffic police will "resolutely clarify" anyone who films and takes photos of traffic policemen on duty. If the cameramen are journalists, the police will notify the news agency.

The above content is part of the instruction y Colonel Tran Son Ha, deputy director of the Road Traffic - Railway Police Agency (C67) to the traffic police departments of provinces and cities.

This document made many people understand that journalists and people who want to film traffic policemen on duty must ask for the police’s permission.

The document was issued on April 26 and it wrote: “Recently, during the patrol and handling of traffic violations, there are some violators who use these relationships to influence or even curse, insult and fight against the officers on duties or pose as reporters to film traffic policemen at work.”

Specifically, in the provinces of Thanh Hoa and Binh Thuan, some people posed as journalists to film traffic police in patrol. According to C67, this is not new, but it is "complex and unpredictable."

This document requires traffic police units to "Always raise alertness, resolutely struggle to clarify the subjects who threat, insult or act against traffic police officers on duty or film, take photo of the operation of traffic policemen without permission of the police officers on duty. If the cameramen are journalists, the police will notify their news agency. If they pose as journalists, they will be punished under the law. "

Most people think that this document is against the law. Having to ask permission before taking pictures of traffic police officers on duty is inappropriate because it violates the rights of citizens and limits the findings of corruption in the traffic police force.

Lawyer Pham Thanh Binh from the Hong Ha Law Office said that this is the internal document, not legal document, so there is no value to apply to other objects outside the traffic police force. However, this is the kind of documents that is unlawful, infringing upon the monitoring rights of the citizen, contrary to the Press Law, hindering the operation of journalists.

"Even the important meetings of the National Assembly are aired live for the people’s supervision. The traffic police work on the road but they are afraid of being filmed is very ridiculous,” said lawyer Binh.

Colonel Tran Son Ha, who signed the document, explained that this is an internal document, not banning the people from taking pictures or filming traffic policemen at work.

According to Ha, the intention of this document is to help traffic policemen work better, because recently some people posed as journalists, affecting the image and reputation of the police traffic force.

He added that filming and taking photos are the rights and obligations of journalists and traffic police are not allowed to intervene. But when reporters contact for making interviews with traffic policemen, the interviewee must be approved by the traffic police agency to answer the interview.

Mr. Le Hong Son, chief of the Ministry of Justice’s Agency for Checking Legal Documents, said that the agency checked the document and found out the contents that are contrary to the law.

He said the document mentioned two main groups of acts, including the group "with verbal threats, insults and actions against the traffic police" and the group "videotaping traffic police without permission." The document shows recklessness when it connects the groups of acts with different nature and degrees.

The connection of the two groups of acts could make readers understand that anyone who film, photograph patrol activities must have “consent” of the traffic police on duty; the police have right to ask for cameramen to present personal documents for verification and to determine one being a journalist or fake journalist. This does not suit the current regulations on the rights of journalists (or people).

Son said filming, photographing police on duty is not recording private photos of a few specific individuals but recording the image of public servants at work and it is no need the traffic police’s permission. Thus, police officers and traffic police officers are not authorized to ask people who are filming, photographing about permission nor have the right to verify personal papers to identify them as a fake journalist or not.

According to the analysis of the Agency for Checking Legal Document, the Press Law regulates that one important task of the press is "discovering, praising good people and good acts, fighting against illegal acts." Journalists have the right to exploit and be provided with information in the press activities in accordance with the law and when they operate under the law, no one has the right to prevent or inquiry them.

For other citizens (not journalists), filming, photographing in the above-mentioned case is not misconduct. The identification of a citizen who is filming, photographing the work of traffic police officers as journalists or fake journalists is inconsistent with the functions and powers of traffic police officers in duty.

From the above analysis, the Agency concluded that the document of the Traffic Police Agency has wrong content that needs to be revised. The Agency asked the Ministry of Justice to organize a meeting with representatives of the traffic police agency and a number of relevant agencies to discuss the wrong content. On the basis of the exchange and discussion at the meeting, the Agency will propose further solutions.

Compiled by Tran Cham