[brightseal]

so of course it is their right to ask you to leave for whatever reason they want, be it taking photos or picking your nose

Not necessarily but ok..............

[mee]

My Bachelor's degree is in Criminal Justice, so I've taken a lot of courses on criminal law and Constitutional law. I would not be surprised if I have taken more courses in those areas than a law student typically takes in law school since their course of study has to cover the whole range of law topics and legal disciplines. Between my education and my actual experience in criminal law, I can tell you with a very high degree of certainty that in Indiana at least, it is not criminal to take a picture of somebody riding in a car in a public place as described by the OP. That's not exactly going out on a limb to say, so if somebody wants to point a finger at me as the source of that information, they are welcome to do so!

And believe it or not, even prosecutors do not have most of the criminal code memorized. They will often have to look things up if it is not something common that they deal with on a regular basis. If I call them with a question, then it is probably going to be something off the wall, and their most likely response will be "let me get back with you in a few minutes."

But I definitely agree on your bigger point that "a random guy on the internet" or even a "random lawyer on the internet" is not what you want to cite as an authority when it is a serious matter that you are concerned about and it's your own butt on the line!

That's great that you're well versed. However, how many of your peers could say the same? Most police are paid little and trained little from my understanding... definitely city cops at least.

In my few run-ins with the cops (when reporting crimes, never in trouble with the law myself) I've discovered they've been arrogant, rude, and thoroughly unknowledgeable. I had one person hit my parked car, called the cops, they told me to drive the car to the police station if I wanted to file a report! uhh what? Another time had someone going door to door with a swindle / fraud scheme. I called the cops and they came out, didn't get out of the car, just condescendingly asked me if I learned my lesson for getting defrauded. uhh what? The perp is headed over there.. here is their description. nope we're not going there, we're not looking for them. well thanks for nothing.

Another time in a different jurisdiction one tried to give my elderly mother (who has never had a ticket in her life) a traffic ticket for running a stop sign in a rural, quiet area. When she stopped entirely, leaned over to get a lifesaver mint from the glove box, leaned back (still no cars around) proceeded through the intersection. About 300-400 feet later up a hill and around a bend, a cop comes rolling by in the opposite direction and claims she ran the stop sign. My mother points out reality. Cop realizes he was caught in a lie and reduces it to a warning. She doesn't want that on her record, goes to the police station to complain about the cop... amazingly EVERYONE is on lunch break. 2-3 hour lunch break. yep no one here. they're on lunch. a really really long lunch break. wow.

I just saw a yt where a guy was arrested by a cop when he (the cop) didn't realize 2 dollar bills were legal tender.

You Tube

You Tube

So yeah.. go with the lawyer.

I'm not disputing this is or is not a crime, I'm disputing going to a cop for legal advice. I'd generally go to a lawyer. Hopefully, a really knowledgeable and skilled one. The cop isn't going to typically represent you in court, a lawyer will. That's what they do. Cops enforce the law, lawyers practice the law.

[aslyfox]

That's great that you're well versed. However, how many of your peers could say the same? Most police are paid little and trained little from my understanding... definitely city cops at least. . . . .

don't discount learning from Law Enforcement

although they are human and thus have human failings

____________________________

I've been a licensed attorney since 1982, served as a public prosecutor and had my own private law firm

I have learned about the law from law enforcement

I have learned about the law from doctors

I have learned about the law from the "public"

I prefer to be treated by a doctor as opposed to a Nurse Practitioner

knowing full well that the Nurse Practitioner is well educated and experienced and may know as much if not more than the doctor in his/her field of expertise

- so I recognize that people have preferences about who to consult for advice

____________________________________

so yes, for legal advice I would go to a licensed attorney experienced in the specific area of the law which is applicable.

however, we can all learn from everyone we meet

if we are smart

and for specific info, we should go to those most qualified.

IMHO, YMMV

[Lowell Goudge]

I believe that the real question based on what I understand the privacy laws are in canada, is how much effort is required to take the picture.

The reason I say this is that even considering the vehicle as a private space, it is somewhat like taking a picture through a store window, or into someone's yard from the street. If the shot is something that can be seen with the naked eye, then it is not an invasion of privacy because it is in plain view. If you need something special, like an unreasonable vantage point offered by climbing a pole, ladder etc, or an unrealistically long telephoto lens to get the image from far away etc, then it is invasion of privacy. This is how the privacy laws have been applied to the tabloid press with celebrities .

This situation from the privacy aspect is probably legal , but what will you do with the photo? You cannot sell it without a release because the people are clearly identifiable and the principle subject"

Then you have the other issue, that while in control of a motor vehicle you are clearly not paying attention to what is arround you, if you were off the road, in park, etc, it is one thing but in the middle of traffic it is quite another.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

That's great that you're well versed. However, how many of your peers could say the same? Most police are paid little and trained little from my understanding... definitely city cops at least.

As with most things, YMMV.

I've found that police in large departments are often over-worked and spread too thinly, so in order to accommodate the call volume, they will not devote much time or attention to non-major incidents, and will tend to sweep things under the rug when they can. So then you get the kinds of situations you were describing where it seems like they just don't give a damn. And in the larger cities they often have to work in areas where police are not liked by many of the residents, and I imagine that over time that can effect the way an officer relates to the public.

Also, in larger departments you will have police who specialize, so that the regular road units do not work everything. So there are specialized DUI units, specialized Domestic Violence units, specialized Drug units etc. So the average cop on the street in a large city might not be extremely knowledgeable in all areas of the law since the specialized units will usually step in and take over those types of investigations.

On the flip side of the coin, small town departments will often not spend a lot on on-going and specialized training, and their salaries are usually lower so they do not always attract the "cream of the crop". And due to the lower-number of incidents, they will not have a lot of experience handling certain types of situations.

In medium-sized towns/departments I think you will tend to get the best police service. The department is large enough that they have quality training regimens, and the city budget is large enough to pay a decent wage to attract good employees. And the police force is usually not spread so thinly that officers are forced to cut corners. And the officers will tend to work all kinds of calls, so they will have a broad range of experience. I think the medium-sized department officers will also tend to be more personable, since they are not usually working in such dangerous/hostile environments like big city cops.

Maybe I'm biased since I come from a medium-sized department, but these have been my observations.

[MarkJerling]

So while on the public highway, could I take an image of the contents of a car or other vehicle without crossing the boundary and breaching privacy laws?

I've done some research. In Australia, you would not breach any laws. Even if the motor vehicle was parked on private property, and you were photographing from the public right of way (the road) you would be within your rights to do so. See Victoria Park Racing and Recreation Grounds Co Ltd v Taylor (1937)

That does not, of course, mean someone may not be uncomfortable with what you're doing and if such person should approach you to ask what you're doing, you'd do well to seek permission to use the photo.