📹 Am I allowed to film a police officer during an intervention?

With conditions

Quick answer

No Croatian law bans filming a police officer in a public place. Criminal Code Art. 144 (unauthorised image recording) protects a person only in a dwelling or a space specially shielded from view — a street intervention is neither. The line lies elsewhere: obstruction costs 300–2,000 € (Public Order Offences Act, Art. 13), and insulting an official or defying a lawful order 700–4,000 € (Art. 17). Publishing the footage is a separate matter: AZOP (the data protection authority), in an opinion published on 4 January 2024, confirms there is no GDPR exemption for officials, but informing the public about police conduct can be lawful — publish only what is necessary and blur faces where you can. The myth "an officer can take my phone and delete the video" has no legal basis whatsoever.

📋 The rules

Filming as such: there is no provision banning "the filming of an official". Criminal Code Art. 144 (up to 1 year, up to 3 years where an official is involved) covers only filming someone "in a dwelling or a space specially shielded from view", and Criminal Code Art. 143 (eavesdropping and secretly recording a non-public conversation) has an express public-interest exception.
The GDPR does still apply to officers on duty: under the CJEU judgment C-345/17 (Buivids) and the AZOP opinion (4 January 2024) there is no exemption for public officials — but filming and publishing in order to inform the public about how the police act can fall under journalistic processing or the public interest (GDPR Art. 85); AZOP advises publishing only what is necessary and, where possible, blurring faces, because the identity of an individual officer is a matter for the oversight bodies, not for the public.
Do not obstruct while you film: disturbing public order is Art. 13 of the Public Order Offences Act (300–2,000 € or up to 30 days in prison), and insulting an official or defying a lawful order is Art. 17 (700–4,000 € or up to 30 days) — keep your distance and comply with lawful orders; filming from the side is not obstruction in itself.
Your phone: the police may take it only as a temporary seizure of an object (an object that could be evidence of a criminal offence or a misdemeanour, or serve for attack, escape or the destruction of traces), and they must issue a written receipt for it; they have no power to delete the footage, and you are not obliged to reveal your PIN.
Banned locations: breaching a prohibition on photographing and sketching that has been issued or posted at a particular place (security zones, military facilities) is Art. 15 of the Public Order Offences Act — 20–100 € or up to 30 days in prison; that is the only genuine "no filming" offence.

🔓 Exceptions

Places under an express ban on photography (Art. 15 of the Public Order Offences Act), courtrooms and border security regimes — there, filming is punishable no matter who is in the frame.
Secretly making an audio recording of a private conversation with an officer (for example inside a police station) genuinely has been the subject of an indictment under Criminal Code Art. 143 (a case in Koprivnica, 2017) — the public-interest exception is assessed case by case and is not a blank permit.
Publishing with no public-interest justification at all (pure naming and shaming, posting an officer's name and address) exposes the publisher to AZOP measures under the GDPR and to possible criminal liability (Criminal Code Art. 146, unlawful use of personal data).

⚠️ Penalties & fines

For filming alone: no penalty. Cross the line into obstruction or insult and it is 300–2,000 € (Public Order Offences Act, Art. 13) or 700–4,000 € (Art. 17), in both cases with up to 30 days in prison possible. For unlawful publication: AZOP measures and fines under the GDPR, plus a possible criminal complaint (Criminal Code Art. 146). The unexpected second consequence: if your recording captures a misdemeanour or a criminal offence, the phone may lawfully be kept as evidence for the duration of the proceedings — you lose the device even though you did nothing wrong. An officer may neither demand nor carry out the deletion of the footage.

📎 Official sources

Last verified: 2026-07-12

❓ Frequently asked

Can I film a police intervention in the street?

You can — no provision bans it, and Criminal Code Art. 144 protects only filming in a dwelling or a space specially shielded from view. Keep your distance and do not obstruct the officers, because obstruction costs 300–2,000 €.

Can an officer take my phone and delete the recording?

The phone may be taken only as a temporary seizure of an object, with a written receipt, and only if it is evidence or a means of attack. There is no power to delete the footage, and you need not reveal your PIN.

Can I post the footage on social media?

Publication is a separate GDPR question: AZOP advises publishing only what is necessary and blurring faces where possible. Pure naming and shaming with no public interest exposes you to AZOP measures and a possible complaint under Criminal Code Art. 146.

Why does MUP claim filming breaches the GDPR?

In a written reply in 2019, MUP (the police) took the position that filming an officer requires a legal basis or consent (GDPR Art. 6). AZOP and CJEU case law (Buivids) hold that the journalistic exception and the public interest can make it lawful; no court has ever upheld the MUP reading.

Is there anywhere filming really is banned?

There is: places under an issued or posted ban on photographing and sketching, such as security zones and military facilities (Public Order Offences Act, Art. 15). The fine is 20–100 € or up to 30 days in prison, and it is the only genuine filming-ban offence.

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