You can film the police. There is no law in England and Wales against photographing or recording officers in a public place, or in your own home, and forces including the Metropolitan Police say so in their own guidance. Officers themselves now routinely record encounters on body-worn video. What follows is what the law allows, what it does not, and how to film without making a tense situation worse.

What the law says

  • Filming in public is lawful. You do not need permission, and officers cannot order you to stop simply because they do not like it.
  • Officers cannot make you delete footage, and have no power to delete it themselves.
  • They can only seize your phone if they reasonably believe it contains evidence of an offence (section 19 of PACE), or on arrest. Even then they must not delete anything, must give you a record, and must return it when it is no longer needed.
  • Obstruction is the limit. Under section 89 of the Police Act 1996 it is an offence to wilfully obstruct an officer in the execution of their duty. Filming is not obstruction; standing in the officer's way, pushing a camera into their face, or refusing to move back when lawfully asked can be.
  • Section 58A of the Terrorism Act 2000, which concerns eliciting information about officers for terrorist purposes, does not apply to ordinary filming and national guidance tells officers not to use it that way.
  • Publishing footage is a separate question. You can generally share it, but be careful about identifying victims, children or bystanders, and anything said in it that could be defamatory. Footage from a stop that becomes court evidence may also be subject to reporting restrictions.

Why film

A recording is your own evidence of what was said and done, and it tends to improve behaviour on both sides. Complaints backed by footage are far harder to dismiss, and footage has been decisive in many successful claims against the police.

How to do it safely

Say what you are doing

Reaching suddenly into a pocket during a stop can be read as a threat. Say "I'm going to take out my phone and record this", then do it slowly.

Keep your distance

Stay far enough back that officers can work and that nobody can claim you obstructed them. A wider shot captures more anyway.

Ask a witness to film

A friend or passer-by filming from a few metres away is harder to accuse of obstruction and gives you a second angle. Ask them to send you the footage straight away.

Narrate the essentials

Say the date, time and place, and read out the officer's shoulder number. Ask the officer to state the grounds and the power for any search; their answer on camera is worth more than anything else you record.

Fall back to audio

If filming is escalating things, put the phone in your pocket and keep recording audio. The words matter most.

Protect the footage

Use a live-streaming or auto-upload app, or back up to the cloud as soon as you can, so that the recording survives if the phone is seized or damaged. Lock your phone with a strong passcode and disable biometric unlock if you expect contact with the police.

When not to film

Your safety comes first. If an officer is becoming aggressive and filming is making it worse, you may decide to stop. That does not mean accepting bad behaviour: note the officer's number, the time and place, and complain afterwards. Body-worn video exists and you can ask for it to be preserved and disclosed as part of your complaint. Exercising your rights after the event is sometimes the safest option.

A tool, not a weapon

Filming works best as a neutral record. Stay calm, keep your language measured, and let the footage speak. The aim is to protect yourself and hold officers to the standards they are meant to meet, not to provoke a reaction.

This is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice. If you have been arrested or charged, speak to a solicitor: advice at the police station is free for everyone.