mall security with

[d_fife]

can mall Security make you delete the pictures? And how often do they make you delete the pictures when they catch you?

only a few times have I been caught by mall security in 4 years and all 3 was because "Someone reported me"!!! who reported me is noisy and what type of people of the population would feel compelled to report you?

[Caldor1999]

i never had any problems with them motley because im with my friends when im taking them i don't think they care if your in a group

[amesman]

Mall security can't make you do anything. They're there to enforce rules and regulations, yes, but they can't tell you to delete your pictures or to hand over personal belongings such as a camera. Unless they get the police involved, there should be no worries. You're acting on your freedom of speech/expression. Aside from that, most malls don't have a posted "No pictures" rule, although they try to put it under the "disrupting shoppers" banner. I'd say to just use discretion, but snap away! :)

[Marc82]

And then of course some malls you just have to take pictures at such as The King of Prussia Mall and The Mall of America. Both are gignormous malls. K.O.P. Mall I've been too. M.O.A. not yet. Maybe Someday.

[Marc82]

I also would avoid taking pictures at malls owned by GGP. They don't even let The Media on their property. There was an incident at The Providence Place Mall a few years back and they wouldn't let ABC 6 onto the property. CBS 12 and NBC 10 had no problems because they have helicopters.

[d_fife]

mall securty doesnt seem to always enforece the picture taking thing. I have had it where nothing happened to me when I took pics in view of security. I have had 3 times of me being told no pic taking and it was cause they got reports. who are usually the snitchs of that, which group of people?

[d_fife]

LISTEN TO THIS: I went to this defunct mall in Kansas City and almost all the stores are gone and when I took pics figuring it would be gone, a security guard confronted me and was going to confiscate my camera and said if I take any more pics he will have me taken to jail.

[EddieJ1984]

I also would avoid taking pictures at malls owned by GGP. They don't even let The Media on their property. There was an incident at The Providence Place Mall a few years back and they wouldn't let ABC 6 onto the property. CBS 12 and NBC 10 had no problems because they have helicopters.

Yea, couple years ago I was takin a picture of the AMC in Neshaminy Mall, where I WORKED at the time, and he mall cop told me not to do that. And Neshaminy Mall is owned by GGP.

[XDeSuEhTX]

LISTEN TO THIS: I went to this defunct mall in Kansas City and almost all the stores are gone and when I took pics figuring it would be gone, a security guard confronted me and was going to confiscate my camera and said if I take any more pics he will have me taken to jail.

I believe a lot of security and even law enforcement are ignorant to the laws of photography. Very few have a clear understanding of this, and therefor threaten to confiscate your stuff.

Here is an interesting read you should always keep in mind:


The Ten Legal Commandments of Photography

I. Anyone in a public place can take pictures of anything they want. Public places include parks, sidewalks, malls, etc. Malls? Yeah. Even though it’s technically private property, being open to the public makes it public space.

II. If you are on public property, you can take pictures of private property. If a building, for example, is visible from the sidewalk, it’s fair game.

III. If you are on private property and are asked not to take pictures, you are obligated to honor that request. This includes posted signs.

IV. Sensitive government buildings (military bases, nuclear facilities) can prohibit photography if it is deemed a threat to national security.

V. People can be photographed if they are in public (without their consent) unless they have secluded themselves and can expect a reasonable degree of privacy. Kids swimming in a fountain? Okay. Somebody entering their PIN at the ATM? Not okay.

VI. The following can almost always be photographed from public places, despite popular opinion:

    accident & fire scenes, criminal activities
    bridges & other infrastructure, transportation facilities (i.e. airports)
    industrial facilities, Superfund sites
    public utilities, residential & commercial buildings
    children, celebrities, law enforcement officers
    UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster, Chuck Norris

VII. Although “security” is often given as the reason somebody doesn’t want you to take photos, it’s rarely valid. Taking a photo of a publicly visible subject does not constitute terrorism, nor does it infringe on a company’s trade secrets.

VIII. If you are challenged, you do not have to explain why you are taking pictures, nor to you have to disclose your identity (except in some cases when questioned by a law enforcement officer.)

IX. Private parties have very limited rights to detain you against your will, and can be subject to legal action if they harass you.

X. If someone tries to confiscate your camera and/or film, you don’t have to give it to them. If they take it by force or threaten you, they can be liable for things like theft and coercion. Even law enforcement officers need a court order.
What To Do If You’re Confronted

    Be respectful and polite. Use good judgement and don’t escalate the situation.
    If the person becomes combative or difficult, think about calling the police.
    Threats, detention, and taking your camera are all grounds for legal or civil actions on your part. Be sure to get the person’s name, employer, and what legal grounds they claim for their actions.
    If you don’t want to involve the authorities, go above the person’s head to their supervisor or their company’s public relations department.
    Call your local TV and radio stations and see if they want to do a story about your civil liberties.
    Put the story on the web yourself if need be.

[XDeSuEhTX]

Another good way to avoid all the hassle, is to take photos with a smart phone, if the picture quality is adequate. I've done this before, most of the time people cannot tell what you're doing, other than looking at your phone. Maybe you're texting, maybe you're surfing the web. Even if they are suspicious, they will not be able to prove you are doing anything, and again have no right to confiscate your belongings...

[retailisking]

Legal or not, using a smartphone didn't help me at the Hannaford in Kennebunk, ME a few weeks ago, but at least they didn't confiscate my camera or ask me to delete the pictures .  Hard to say that a bunch of low-res pictures amounts to corporate espionage, but hey, it's their place.  Likewise, I asked nicely last fall at the customer service counter if I could take interior pics of the Price Chopper in Lincoln, NH and was turned down.  Their loss...

[d_fife]

can mall security confiscate ones cameras. I WOULDNT give it to them anyway, as the camera cost money and has pictures of my vaca in it! Can they make you delete the pic

here is this also for what happened in ohio valley mall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHVJg-17eJA

[d_fife]

can security have someone arrested for pics taking or confiscate the camera? I got in trouble with a mall in hawwii for it, the guard accused me of taking pics of the cameras, said I am suspicious, I Saw no rule of pic taking,a nd threatened to kick me out if I take one more pic and they followed me around, accused me of loitering and escorted me off the property.

[TheFugitive]

VI. The following can almost always be photographed from public places, despite popular opinion:

    accident & fire scenes, criminal activities
    bridges & other infrastructure, transportation facilities (i.e. airports)
    industrial facilities, Superfund sites
    public utilities, residential & commercial buildings
    children, celebrities, law enforcement officers
    UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster, Chuck Norris

VII. Although “security” is often given as the reason somebody doesn’t want you to take photos, it’s rarely valid. Taking a photo of a publicly visible subject does not constitute terrorism, nor does it infringe on a company’s trade secrets.

Interesting because there have been cases recently of individuals (primarily foreign nationals) being detained by
police for photographing bridges, industrial facilities, dams, etc.  Supposedly "casing" them for a terrorist act.

[d_fife]

will mall security confiscate my camera?

[d_fife]

also if you refuse to leave and they call the police, will the police give you one last chance to leave before an arrest?

[Ameskid]

I narrowly avoided a problem with not one, but two mall cops at Owings Mills Mall in Maryland.  This was in late December 2011:

"So I go to the entrance closest to the rear parking lot, which also serves a Macy's, a JCPenney, and an entrance to the mall itself. Keep in mind that the mall is in pretty bad and dated shape with only a 30% occupancy rate, and isn't in the best part of town either. I try the six doors at that entrance; nothing. I walk around to a completely dead entrance with no cars in the parking lot, on the other side of the store, and notice that a door is unlocked. Better yet, part of the accordion gate has been rolled away! I open the door, and immediately hear a couple of men shouting at me to GTFO. I close the door and retreat to a couple hundred feet away.

A couple of minutes later, I decide to try the doors again. I don't know who these people are: scrappers? mall employees? who? No one says anything when I try opening the door again...but just as I'm about to go for it, a mall security truck pulls up. frickin stuff, I think. I go to the truck cab and look the driver in the eyes, to signify that I want to tell him something. He exits the truck, and I tell him truthfully, "I heard some people in there." He replies nonchalantly, "Yeah, there's people in there." Which means that whoever is in there was either found out by security before I came or had permission to be in there. In either case, I've got no reason to stick around, so I shrug my shoulders and walk down the sidewalk toward the rest of the mall.

I stop a couple hundred yards away to see three African-American people, two men and a woman, who look to be in their 40s, being escorted from the store. The security guard gets back in the truck and drives off. I think twice about taking pictures of the people, and take a picture of a door with "Boscovs" and the store address on it instead. As I walk toward the loading docks of the store and another mall entrance, another security SUV pulls up. frickin stuff. The driver rolls down the window and says, "Excuse me, sir, were you taking pictures back there?" Given that we're approximately 150 yards away from a mall entrance, and I don't want him to delete anything on my camera, I say, "No, I'm just trying to get to the mall entrance over there." To my surprise, he doesn't ask to see my camera or anything, but he follows right beside me until I actually enter the mall. Close calls, indeed."

[Ameskid]

Just to add to a couple of comments further up in the thread: I believe most, if not all, GGP malls do forbid photography in the posted rules. Snap away with discretion.

The extremely-dead Cincinnati Mall (aka Forest Fair Village) actively prevents photography with a rent-a-cop on a Segway. I've heard of multiple other photographers being escorted to the exit by RoboCop. When I visited, the mall cop only showed up after I was done taking photos, so I hid my camera away until he was out of sight.

[danfifepsu]

would mall securitry confiscate the camera?

[Ameskid]

They have no legal right to confiscate a camera or any other personal property.

[Chuck E. Cheese]

From what I've read here and 'The Caldor Rainbow', no.