EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND — Police in Scotland have warned that if they’re going to be expected to enforce the new law banning possession of “extreme” pornography, the government is going to have to clarify the law’s letter and intent.At issue is the term “extreme pornography,” which the Association of Police Officers in Scotland feels is vague and subjective.
According to the law, possession of explicitly sexual images depicting life-threatening acts and violence likely to cause injury carries a penalty of up to five years in jail. In order to avoid misunderstandings, police want those acts defined.
In addition, police warned government officials about “real challenges” represented by the internet, where users may encounter content that is now illegal in Scotland but may be perfectly legal in its country of origin.
“The Scottish police may also face challenge in managing the expectations of interested agencies such as Rape Crisis and violence against women groups, regarding the resource committed to and effective policing of this issue,” ACPOS noted in a written statement to an investigative committee.
The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency has noted similar concerns. In its statement to the committee, the agency wondered whether images that are obviously both pornographic and staged by willing participants who came to no actual physical harm would fall afoul of the law. In such a case, SCDEA noted, officers would be tasked not with deciding whether the depicted act had taken place, but whether the image was “pornographic, explicit and realistic.” That, they concluded, was too much subjective responsibility for officers.
SCDEA also encouraged the committee to consider the effect viewing alleged “extreme pornography” might have on police and other professionals who were required to evaluate it.
