Innocent until proven guilty. Many of us take this presumption of innocence as a given because, in an ideal world, this would always be the case. Something many don’t think about until it’s too late is that an arrest is far from a private event. Arrest records — including arrest booking photos, also known as mugshots — are all a matter of public record. By law, they’re accessible to anyone under public records laws and they can find their way to the farthest reaches of the Internet, creating a perception of guilt before a formal charge has ever been filed.
While the goal is to serve the public interest, including safety, these arrest photos can in some cases do more harm than good. After all, a person going through the booking process is often already frightened, confused, and embarrassed. A published booking photo only adds to their distress and conveys an image that often suggests guilt in the court of public opinion — an assumption that “something must have happened or they wouldn’t have been arrested.”
In our increasingly interconnected digital world, an arrest photo always has the potential to “go viral” and spread to multiple, far-flung corners of the Internet. For better or worse, what happens on the internet stays on the internet. A resident may be arrested on suspicion of a nonviolent crime — such as a DUI — and the next day find that their booking photo has been placed on the social media pages of the local arresting police department.
With no universal laws establishing where records can be published, many people have found their lives upended before ever being formally charged with a crime.
Fortunately, reforms are starting to catch up to technology and its role in the justice system. Assembly Bill 1475, recently signed into California law, has put very important limits on what can be shared by local police departments on their social media accounts.
NEW LIMITS ON POLICE DEPARTMENTS POSTING MUGSHOTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
“Before you’re even convicted, you have a criminal record.” This is the reality of what many experience when their photo and other details of their booking are immediately published after an arrest. For so many people, an arrest is one of the most stressful moments of their lives — and then they go home to find their mugshot on Facebook or other social media platform.
Especially in small towns, booking photos can be immediately damaging. These photos can essentially convict an innocent person in the court of public opinion: they can be viewed by employers, family members, and neighbors. In addition to the harm done to these relationships, the perception of guilt has the added impact of poisoning a jury pool, decreasing the assurance of a fair trial.
By preventing police from posting mugshots after someone is arrested and accused of a non-violent crime, AB 1475 should hopefully be a step in the right direction for mitigating the damage such photos can cause where it does not serve the greater good of the community. While Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Nextdoor are great resources to the public, with great power comes great responsibility.
With public safety being of the utmost importance, this bill does not take away that power. Police departments are still able to serve the community by posting the mugshots of those arrested for violent crimes or who are classified as particularly dangerous to themselves or others. By balancing public safety concerns with the right to a fair trial, justice has a chance to work as it was designed — with a presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
REQUESTING REMOVAL OF PHOTOS FROM POLICE DEPARTMENTS’ SOCIAL MEDIA
What if your local police department has already posted your picture for the world wide web to see? Fortunately, AB 1475 gives anyone accused of a non-violent crime the right to have their photos removed from police department social media pages. Upon request, departments must do so within 14 days of that request. If accused of a violent crime, there is still a right to request removal if the conviction has been dismissed, expunged, pardoned, or eradicated.
As mentioned in a recent blog about new criminal justice reforms this year, AB 1076 provides record clearance for California defendants who have been arrested after January 1, 2021. The law calls for automatic record expungement for all misdemeanor and non-violent felony convictions after certain requirements are met. As stated previously, it would not apply to registered sex offenders, nor those with an open criminal case or currently on probation or parole.
With these new expungement updates, it’s even more likely that AB 1475 provides much-needed relief for those rightfully looking to put the past behind them, at least in one corner of the internet. Ensuring that public information is truly being used for the public good has been a legislative goal of the State based on legal action taken in recent years.
Even before these reforms on the use of social media pages maintained by local police departments, the State of California previously pursued charges of extortion against a site that published booking photos and then charged people to have them removed. The ease by which public information can be spread is another reason to find proper representation (and quickly) after being arrested or when seeking expungement and related efforts to clear your record.
RECLAIM YOUR RIGHT TO PRIVACY WITH PROPER DEFENSE
It can be hard to know how to move forward when digital records of your arrest resurface online. You have the right to know not only what to expect right after an arrest, but also about the potential to request removal of any police department’s social media mentions of your booking. A criminal charge does not make you a criminal, and you have the right to know your rights. From there, you’re that much closer to your clean slate — online and off.
For a true advocate that you can trust, in a judgment-free zone, contact Proper Defense Law Corporation today. For a FREE consultation in the Fresno area, call (559) 825-3800. You can reach us at our Beverly Hills location by calling (424) 284-4066. You can also schedule an appointment online on our Contact Us page. It gets better with Proper Defense, we promise.
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