Thursday, April 07, 2022

Mug Shots

 There is a bill advancing in the Louisiana legislature that would prohibit the release of booking photos (mug shots) prior to conviction.  I'm not sure how I feel about tht.

On the one hand, arrest records are pubic information, subject to public inspection. As a rookie officer I was taught that arrest records are public because we are not the KGB, and if we arrest someone, we don't make a secret of it, and the booking photo is a part of that record.

On the other hand, I understand that arrested persons are not yet convicted of anything, so a presumption of innocence applies.  Many news outlets splash booking photos across the headlines, causing problems for people who are later acquitted.

I see both sides of the argument, and I'm willing to be convinced.

1 comment:

Jonathan H said...

If release were limited to publicly run locations, I'd be okay with it, but the way these photos are used and abused by private sources concerns me.