Legal Guarantees for Police Officers when Citizens Take Photos and Videos of their Official Activities

This study's objective is the interaction of employees of internal affairs bodies with mass media. The subject of the study is the legal basis for the interaction of internal affairs officers with the media, the requirements, and the procedure for preparing for such interaction. The purpose of the study is to identify the legitimate grounds for the use of photo and video devices to capture the activities of police officers, as well as the procedure for training police officers to interact with the media. The study uses theoretical research methods (interdisciplinary analysis of literature and normative legal documents, systematization, comparison, and generalization). In this article, the authors reviewed the regulatory documents explaining the rights to capture photos and videos of police officers’ professional activities. The practical significance of this study lies in the legal justification of the legality of the use of photo and video tools in the activities of police officers made by the authors based on the analyzed normative legal acts, generalized based on the studied federal laws and departmental orders communicative requirements for police communication with the media, as well as the experience presented by the authors on the formation of the readiness of future police officers to interact with the mass media at the stage of training in Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs’ educational organizations. So, according to the authors, for the successful preparation of future police officers for interaction with the media, it is necessary to create special pedagogical conditions, including conducting communication training, creating a cadet press center, studying a special academic discipline, as well as the constant involvement of students in interaction with the media.

police officer, mass media, training, press center, communications, competence, science and technologies progress, taking photos, video filming, citizens