This is the self-proclaimed “citizen journalist” who the PSNI want to ban from filming outside police stations.
Charles Johnston regularly films outside public buildings, including PSNI stations, and uploads the videos to a YouTube channel called Cj Audits Auditing Northern Ireland.
The videos often include interactions with police officers who question what Johnston, who wears a mask when filming, is doing.
The identity of the officers is not blurred out in the videos.
The footage shared on YouTube by 49-year-old Johnston, who comes from Larne, also includes the number plates of vehicles entering and leaving police stations.
Security concerns have been raised around the information being shared on the YouTube channel.
As a result, the PSNI is applying for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) against Johnston.
The case is due to come before Ballymena Magistrates Court next week.
Since launching his YouTube channel in March 2022, Johnston has posted 128 videos.
When asked by the Sunday World why they were taking the case against Johnston, a PSNI spokesperson said they do not comment on named individuals.
Johnston is one of growing number of so-called “auditors” who share videos on YouTube.
The phenomenon started in the US and has now spread to the UK.
One of Johnston’s videos at Downpatrick PSNI station
It is legal to film on public land outside any building in the UK, including police stations and other security facilities.
The auditors, who do not use their real names on their YouTube channels, visit such buildings to film outside in the hope of provoking a reaction from security staff.
Often when a police or security officer sees someone filming outside a building, they approach them and asked why they are filming.
The auditor then tells them they are legally entitled to film whatever they want.
'auditor' |
Cops want to ban YouTube ‘citizen journalist’ from filming outside PSNI stations
Charles Johnston is one of growing number of so-called “auditors” who share videos on YouTube
Charles Johnston always wears a mask in his videos
Ciaran O'NeillWed 24 Jul 2024 at 09:42
This is the self-proclaimed “citizen journalist” who the PSNI want to ban from filming outside police stations.
Charles Johnston regularly films outside public buildings, including PSNI stations, and uploads the videos to a YouTube channel called Cj Audits Auditing Northern Ireland.
The videos often include interactions with police officers who question what Johnston, who wears a mask when filming, is doing.
The identity of the officers is not blurred out in the videos.
The footage shared on YouTube by 49-year-old Johnston, who comes from Larne, also includes the number plates of vehicles entering and leaving police stations.
Security concerns have been raised around the information being shared on the YouTube channel.
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As a result, the PSNI is applying for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) against Johnston.
The case is due to come before Ballymena Magistrates Court next week.
Since launching his YouTube channel in March 2022, Johnston has posted 128 videos.
When asked by the Sunday World why they were taking the case against Johnston, a PSNI spokesperson said they do not comment on named individuals.
Johnston is one of growing number of so-called “auditors” who share videos on YouTube.
The phenomenon started in the US and has now spread to the UK.
One of Johnston’s videos at Downpatrick PSNI station
It is legal to film on public land outside any building in the UK, including police stations and other security facilities.
The auditors, who do not use their real names on their YouTube channels, visit such buildings to film outside in the hope of provoking a reaction from security staff.
Often when a police or security officer sees someone filming outside a building, they approach them and asked why they are filming.
The auditor then tells them they are legally entitled to film whatever they want.
In many cases, an argument ensues and the auditor’s aim of provoking a reaction is successful, making for good content for their YouTube channel.
The more views a video gets, the better the chance the producer of the YouTube channel has of securing advertising revenue.
While the auditors correctly state to anyone who challenges them that they are entitled to film on public land, opponents of the practice have described the YouTubers as “attention-seekers”.
In a description on his YouTube channel of what he does, Johnston writes: “I am a content creator, photography is my passion and it’s legal to film in public places.
“I will stand up for my rights as a photographer and I film anything I can see with my eyes — if u don’t like it don’t approach me. Please don’t interfere with my passion or rights — citizen journalism is a big thing now and growing fast and is your right to film anything form public.”
As well as filming in Northern Ireland, Johnston has teamed up with other auditors to film outside buildings in other parts of the UK.
Last month while filming in Belfast city centre, Johnston came across a group of DUP politicians and party members outside the office of the Electoral Office of Northern Ireland (EONI).
In the subsequent video posted online, he approaches Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and asks her, in a situation which doesn’t really back up his claims to be a journalist, what her name is.
“My name is Emma,” replies the Deputy First Minister.
“Emma?” asks Johnston, in an apparent attempt to find out her surname.
“No, I will just give you my first name,” replies Mrs Little-Pengelly. “See if you can work it out, see how good a journalist you are.”
In another video posted online last month, Johnston is again walking through Belfast city centre when he sees a group of journalists standing outside the EONI headquarters.
Johnston is told the journalists are waiting to interview Alliance Party leader Naomi Long after she handed in documents to the electoral office.
As Ms Long later speaks to the media, Johnston tries to ask the Justice Minister a question about “the abuse I take on the streets for using a camera”.
When Ms Long ignores his question, Johnston follows her to her car.
In response to the growing number of auditors filming outside police stations, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has issued guidance to police forces, including the PSNI, on how to handle the YouTubers.
Police officers are advised to ignore the auditors and not to try to prevent them filming.
The PSNI’s application for an ASBO against Charles Johnston is believed to be the first of its kind in Northern Ireland in relation to YouTube auditors.
The application states that between November 16 and December 14 2022, Johnston acted in an anti-social manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to people.
This was in relation to him recording staff and “comings and goings” from “PSNI stations and other locations”.
by Portal_Jumper125
32 comments
He’s a fuckin dick who does everything he can to antagonise the cops. If he put as much effort into finding a job as he does with this shit then he might be a better human being.
Id gladly pay any amount to see this guy “get audited” by several burly angry men
Looks exactly like i thought he would look like
“auditing” = provoking people to try to get a reaction, which drives traffic to his YouTube site and provides an income. Not just cops but private businesses, football stadiums etc too.
Unfortunately I’m not sure what can be done about this without encroaching on civil liberties. Hopefully an ASBO will do the trick, although the courts here generally seem reluctant to grant them.
Think the cops are going softly in the hope he goes away.
Ban this annoying cunt and the fucking hate preachers in town too.
Useless wanker needs to get a fucking life. Just a nuisance with notions .
Why stop there though … Is there a dangerous precedent to take away our freedom … or can we also pepper spray and taze freedom dad ?
Literally doesn’t understand what an audit is.
Ban the useless cunt from getting benefits and he’ll soon find a better, more productive use for his seemingly endless free time.
I nearly ran the stupid fucker over once and I wish I hadn’t wasted brake pad material on the dickhead.
He’s a bit of a nob head that fella, buck charging round the place like a bloody big halfwit and he’s claiming the pip so he is
Fuck he’s punchable 😅
Is this the guy that was out of breath keeping up with Stephen Nolan?
You know you’re a complete wanker when everyone sides with the PSNI.
I’m not convinced of the merits of stopping someone filming in a public place because they’re deemed annoying.
If this is allowed to happen, the precedent will absolutely be used in the future to stop legitimate journalism exposing wrongdoing by public figures.
We’re often told by the authorities that if we’ve nothing to hide, we’ve nothing to fear from surveillance.
If there is a security risk in PSNI officers being identified, then I would not be opposed to an order being in place banning vehicle registration numbers of private cars entering and exiting a barracks being published.
I don’t see any justification for the DFM – or her counterpart – having her identity protected. Everyone knows what she looks like, or certainly anyone who intends to do her harm does.
Wankers exist.
He shows classic symptoms of perhaps having autism and needs to chill. Watched the video of him going into ballymena police station, announcing he had a drone, running down a wee side alley, bringing out a fake controller as he didn’t even have a drone and then pretended to fly it over the station torturing the cops on duty. A waste of space. He has recently found his identity travelling down to Palestine marches in the city centre and torturing folks there… without Palestine he would have no income. Sad to see.
There is a video of him talking to Emma little pengelly in Belfast. Calls himself a “citizen journalist” and he didn’t even know who she was. What a fucking ball bag!
The solution really is to just ignore them and find a solution, such as new legislation, to prevent them from uploading videos to Youtube and close down their accounts.
He’s an absolute walt
He’s been doing videos of police stations for ages, I bet this is because of what he did to Nolan the other day.
Say what ya want but it’s funny this happened days after him chasing a BBC mouthpiece down the road.
PSNI only getting off their hole when Nolan was accosted even though he’s been doing videos of cop shops for years. Is that not just a wee bit funny?
Suppose they got through their fucking mahoosive backlog of rapes and assaults and sent those responsible to jail, so now they can focus on civilians walking round with their cameras on.
The wife leaves you, takes the house, the wains and your best mate. You have £600 left after the divorce so you buy a DJI Camera, start a YouTube channel and start annoying every person in authority because the judge sided with her..
“Johnston, who comes from Larne”
Course he fuckin does.
120 odd videos in 3 years is feck all as well.
In case it’s lost on people, this guy is very much endangering lives.
Not blurring their faces is bad enough, however posting videos online showing the cars that enter and leave the police station provides actionable intelligence to criminals on the identities of both Police Constables and staff, and is genuinely enough for them to track down people and their families should they want to kill them.
Honestly, I’d support a ban of filming outside secure places like Police stations and Army barracks without permission, at least in NI: I have to be frank and say that I consider the preservation of life an acceptable compromise to freedom of speech, regardless of what anyone says.
Generally it is ok to video or take photos in public places, including photos of people, for journalistic, editorial or art purposes. However, this is only the case if you are not harassing members of the public to obtain the footage. Under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, you can be prosecuted if you are threatening, stalking, intimidating or causing distress to someone to obtain a photo or video. In my opinion many of these so called ‘Auditors’ cross that line. It’s also because of people like this that our lives become riddled with rules and regulations. That’s all they are going to achieve!
hes 100% on top rate dla
An ASBO?! Fuck me what a throwback
Fair play to the ruc sorry psni have did a lot shit
You want different rules from the mainland has trouble came from not that I know of
If the ruc was 50/50 and didn’t create collusion that’s killed a few peoples on both sides also pitted there own citizens against each others fs only YouTube
Seen this guy’s stuff pretty shite he even tried to film outside a supposed army barracks housing migrants, they left after no one gave them content.
It’s crazy to think if you actually audit him he would probably freak out
There’s nothing wrong with filming the likes of a protest, in public there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.
Thing is that these so-called and self-proclaimed “auditors” often go out of their way to annoy and provoke bad reactions out of people to generate views. How can that fall under “journalism?”. They are threading a thin line between filming legally and harassing people in some cases.
Filming public buildings and people at work *from outside their boundaries* is legal but again I’m not sure how you would call that “Journalism”, which is how these so-called, self-proclaimed “auditors” try to claim what they are doing is legal. Again another legal grey-area.
I think there should be more clarity in the law as to whom a “journalist” is and what they can and can’t film without permission.
Best thing to do is to not engage or react at all. Make their videos as boring as possible and they won’t get many views.
So has he no job to go to and why does he wear a mask. Absolute Muppet, needs a clip round the lug hole and sent back home to his mammy.
Yes he’s being a douche, but technically he isn’t breaking any laws, that’s the whole point I thought as nowadays peoples liberties and rights are being trampled one step at a time with nobody pushing back?
The ASBO the PSNI are seeking is the first step on a road to more sustained overreach. If the Officers are so upset by being asked what they are up to or if they do indeed understand the law they are supposed to be enforcing then maybe if they were off fighting actual crime they wouldn’t have the time to run into him 👀
Charlie Veitsch is a better auditor. But why is car dash cameras allowed and accepted but not auditors? it records people and cars? there as always been public auditors, why are the PSNI only taking notice now?
Imagine being near 50 and getting on like that.
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