  Los Angeles's finest lay down the law with the paparazzi. (PHOTO: Martin Bouffard, Sun Media)
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Blair Berk, lawyer for celebrities the likes of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Cameron Diaz, is categorical: "Police must become more aggressive. The paparazzi no longer follow the rules. There's a spike in fierceness and in the tendency to commit a crime to get the money shot," she said in an interview.
In 2005, the children of one of her clients, Reese Witherspoon, were attacked by a paparazzo for a photo op.
According to Berk, the responsibility also lies with the editors of the magazines that buy the pictures taken illegally. "They are complicit in the crime. It should be illegal to publish pictures of children without written consent."
Elliot Mintz, Paris Hilton's press attache, also believes that police must be more present.
"Trailing a celebrity on the road is illegal. They should receive tickets and be arrested for that," he said.
And what do police do? "We can only act when we are witness to a traffic code violation," answered LAPD police officer Karen Smith.
Others believe that the "anti-paparazzi" law should be made more stringent to put a damper on the phenomenon.
"This industry is full of rotten apples. We need another amendment. It's currently not enough," believes Richard Walton, celebrity lawyer in Hollywood.
