Hi everyone! I’m European. And lately, I have been wondering about “mugshots”. If I have understood correctly (but correct me if I’m wrong, that is why I am posting here: to learn!), whenever someone is arrested under the suspicion of some crime, mugshots are taken, and made publically available.
Is this true, or is this just an impression of mine? Can anyone just view the pics of people who have been arrested without being proven guilty?
Thanks in advance to anyone who cares to shed some light on this topic!
Much love to you all from Europe!
Memory <3
In: 331
Where I’m from in the states there used to be a publication called “Busted” that they sold in gas stations (typically by the register, and very conspicuous) that had every local mugshot taken over the previous month PLUS what they were arrested for. I always thought that was crazy.
not all counties/cities/states make public the mugshots, and not all of them will even take a mugshot.
the arrest record is however a public matter. and thats what I see as a problem. if I am arrested, and later found not guilty, my arrest record was made public and now I am going to suffer the consequences of an inept police dept that decided I was the one that should be arrested, and this can be found YEARS after a person is found not guilty, and can impact getting jobs etc.
Being from the EU, a lot of countries require everybody to have ID/registration with local government. I think that most places in the USA don’t have that so that mugshots are a lot more common.
I got arrested once here in Germany (cleared of all charges, just saying), and no mugshot was taken
So, the ‘pro’ of mandating that mugshots and arrests be made public is so that the police can’t “Disappear” people. It’s to protect the people being arrested from just being lynched or killed or held without anyone knowing where they are. It’s basically a transparency policy.
As you mentioned, there’s a ‘con’, in that a lot of people watch them and assume guilt.
The rules vary quite a bit across different cities and states depending on history and people’s views. some require it, some prohibit it, some have a mix.
Not *always*
But my Texas city has an official Facebook page that posts the nightly Mugshots from the day before along with their crimes.
Every week the local newspaper prints a full page article with all their faces too.
When I worked as a waiter we would find our coworkers on there quite often for Public Intoxication or Drunk Driving.
“Hey Joe no-called today anyone heard from him??”
“Oh yea. His pictures in the newspaper. He’s been in the slammer for 2 days. I’ll take his shift and he’ll call when they let him out”
Some places may only release the picture if the charges stick (if you’re convicted), others will do it right away. Some may not do it at all.
And it can depend on which crime, too. A minor crime like being drunk in public you may spend the night in jail without ever being photographed, charged, or convicted; while something like assault or burglary you might get the whole thing right away.
It is shocking how much is publicly available in the US criminal justice system. Even liberal states have searchable databases of arrests, mugshots, etc.
Why this is shocking to me:
– this cancels the idea of a finite sentence, because long after a sentence is fulfilled, the conviction will still show up in a Google search (and not just for things like sex offender registry, which I’m all for)
– worse: an arrest is not a conviction. A lot of people have their name tarnished online for a crime they didn’t commit, but this is never scrubbed. And obv with racist policing, this happens with a much higher probability to minorities.
I’m a European and worked for a sec on criminal justice reform.
If a mugshot is taken, It is usually available to the public at some point. The theory is that in a country of people who are supposed to be free from the interference of government without a legal reason. the citizens have a right to know why their government has seized a free person and which citizen the government has Seized.
The US laws very by jurisdiction. The mug shot is taken when you’re charged with something along with things like fingerprints. The government wants to be able to track you down if you get loose.
I can’t comment on mugshots specifically, but the system here was set up to make arrests a public affair. The idea being that the government couldn’t make people disappear that way.
This is in opposition to my understanding that in many European countries, they try to keep arrests discreet to avoid bringing shame upon an innocent person.
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