Source: lakeconews.com 9/19/24 A federal court ruling handed down earlier this month has resulted in changes to inmate and arrest information posted on the Lake County Sheriff’s Office website. The Houston V. Maricopa County ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court led to the sheriff’s office temporarily disabling its “recent arrests” and “in custody” online tools on its website at www.lakesheriff.com. The Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously that Maricopa County, Arizona’s practice of posting photographs of arrestees — which is common across the United States — is not constitutionally permissible because it…
Read MoreTag: Mugshots
GA: Georgia lawmakers hold out hope for bill that would restrict publication of mugshots
Source: georgiarecorder.com 2/26/24 Sheriff’s offices posting mugshots of booked people has been a commonplace practice for a while now. It also has some blood on its hands. “An 18-year-old committed suicide because they did not have the money to get the mugshot removed, and he could not get a job,” said Tyrone Democrat Rep. Derrick Jackson. Georgians who have not been convicted of a crime have lost their jobs and reputations because of their posted mugshot. Those with criminal records have unemployment rates at 27% according to the Prison Policy…
Read MoreFL: Tampa Bay Times Nixes Mugshot Gallery
[newsmax.com – 6/16/20] The Tampa Bay Times will stop publishing its online mugshot gallery, which features people who have been arrested in the newspaper’s coverage area. The Times made the announcement on Monday. “The galleries lack context and further negative stereotypes,” said Tampa Bay Times Executive Editor Mark Katches. “We think the data is an important resource that our newsroom will continue to analyze and watch carefully, but the galleries alone serve little journalistic purpose.” Katches added that the newspaper will still publish individual mugshots with stories when arrests have been…
Read MoreNewsrooms Rethink a Crime Reporting Staple: The Mugshot
[themarshallproject.org – 2/11/20] Some are red-eyed from crying, others visibly drunk. Some sport black eyes or jarring face tattoos. Occasionally, one offers an addled grin. Online mugshot galleries, where news organizations post rows of people who were arrested, once seemed like an easy moneymaker for struggling newsrooms: Each reader click to the next image translated to more page views and an opportunity for more advertising dollars. Published in partnership with Poynter. But faced with questions about the lasting impact of putting these photos on the internet, where they live forever,…
Read MoreConservative Governors Take On the Mugshot Racket
Last week, a New York Times article titled “Mugged by a Mugshot Online” described the dubious business of mugshot extortion. Dozens of companies acquire the post-arrest mugshots — which are public records — of individuals who may or may not have been convicted. They then post the pictures on a website and charge a fee — sometimes in the hundreds of dollars — for removal. Moreover, even the payment of the fee doesn’t necessarily stop a website’s owner from launching a new site, reposting the same mugshot, and demanding yet another fee…
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