Star News Mugshots (2024)

FAQs

Why do jails take mugshots? ›

The primary purpose of the mug shot is to allow law enforcement to have a photographic record of an arrested individual to allow for identification by victims, the public and investigators.

It is important for the purpose of facial recognition that the person being photographed is looking directly at the camera with their full face and ears exposed and without any facial expression. Tilting or rotating of the head can cause inaccurate facial measurements that may result in recognition problems.

People smile at booking cameras for a variety of reasons. Some are drunk or high, some suffer from mental illness, and some smile because they think their arrest is absurd.

In some states, arrestees have a drape placed around them before having their mug shot taken. Why is that done? Supposedly it's to remove any clothing bias involving anything like background, status, and heritage.

One popular app is JailBase. You can search millions of arrest records for free.

Munission SmartShot is an out-of-the-box solution that lets law enforcement officers capture NIST-compliant mug shots with minimal training. SmartShot's advanced facial recognition technology masterfully standardizes photos so victims and witnesses can better identify suspects, and you can expedite the booking process.

Vernacular Photography and Carceral Scenes

The most prevalent images of criminalized and incarcerated populations are those used in service of carceral institutions to identify and index subjects, such as arrest photographs and prisoner identification cards.

A March 18 Instagram post explained why. The department explained that a California law that went into effect on Jan. 1 restricted how and when agencies can share mugshots. Images of suspects involved in non-violent crimes are now prohibited from being posted on social media in most circ*mstances.

Mugshots in Florida are public record, which means anyone can access them from a jail booking site. News4JAX sometimes uses them as a visual aid in certain crime stories.

Are mugshots public record in the USA? ›

Mugshot photos and arrest information are public record, no matter whether the information is accurate or not. Once someone has been booked and had their mugshot taken, the arrest information becomes part of the public domain.