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Lego Heads In Mugshots?

maximus otter

maximus otter

Recovering policeman
Joined
Aug 9, 2001
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Something looks a little funny on one California police department’s social media pages.

The Murrieta Police Department is photoshopping Legos onto suspects’ faces in mugshots and arrest photos.

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Courtesy of the Murietta Police Department

Locals have noticed this phenomenon on the police department’s social media, and the department’s reason turns out to be simple.

A new law that went into effect Jan. 1 prohibits law enforcement from sharing suspect photos for nonviolent crimes, except in special circumstances, MPD said in a March 18 Instagram post. They are also required to remove suspect mugshots from social media after 14 days.

Wanting to continue to share with locals, “we chose to cover the faces of suspects to protect their identity while still aligning with the new law,” MPD said.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article286887030.html

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
Something looks a little funny on one California police department’s social media pages.

The Murrieta Police Department is photoshopping Legos onto suspects’ faces in mugshots and arrest photos.

IMG_7523.jpg


Courtesy of the Murietta Police Department

Locals have noticed this phenomenon on the police department’s social media, and the department’s reason turns out to be simple.

A new law that went into effect Jan. 1 prohibits law enforcement from sharing suspect photos for nonviolent crimes, except in special circumstances, MPD said in a March 18 Instagram post. They are also required to remove suspect mugshots from social media after 14 days.

Wanting to continue to share with locals, “we chose to cover the faces of suspects to protect their identity while still aligning with the new law,” MPD said.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article286887030.html

maximus otter
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Number 2 is clearly guilty - just look at his nervous expression! Guilty as!

Numbers 3 and 4 look a lot like friends of mine - hello Gary and Chris!

I've been to Murietta but took part in no crimes or identity parades. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it...
 
maximus otter said:
Something looks a little funny on one California police department’s social media pages.

The Murrieta Police Department is photoshopping Legos onto suspects’ faces in mugshots and arrest photos.

IMG_7523.jpg


Courtesy of the Murietta Police Department

Locals have noticed this phenomenon on the police department’s social media, and the department’s reason turns out to be simple.

A new law that went into effect Jan. 1 prohibits law enforcement from sharing suspect photos for nonviolent crimes, except in special circumstances, MPD said in a March 18 Instagram post. They are also required to remove suspect mugshots from social media after 14 days.

Wanting to continue to share with locals, “we chose to cover the faces of suspects to protect their identity while still aligning with the new law,” MPD said.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article286887030.html

maximus otter
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So what am I missing here? People's mugshots and arrest photos are posted to a social media account? Why? Where is the "innocent until proven guilty" ideal?

It states that they (law enforcement) are complying with a law that prohibits them from sharing suspects' photos. These people have not been proven guilty of anything at this point.

So how could they do this to begin with?
 
catseye said:
I quite fancy number 5.
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PeteS said:
Go on - it's the glasses and sardonic smile isn't it?
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I think that makes him the perp. Number 2 is nervous because he's innocent but kinda looks like the guy.

brownmane said:
So what am I missing here? People's mugshots and arrest photos are posted to a social media account? Why? Where is the "innocent until proven guilty" ideal?

It states that they (law enforcement) are complying with a law that prohibits them from sharing suspects' photos. These people have not been proven guilty of anything at this point.

So how could they do this to begin with?
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I may be wrong here, but aren't all the mug books of "usual suspects" full of arrestees, not necessarily convicts? When my roommate was mugged many years ago, the cops showed her pages of "suspects" to see if she recognized anyone. They didn't say "we think it was this guy." It may be a little different here, but simply saying Joe Shmoe from Kokomo is suspected of punching Bobby Bobo is not saying he's guilty, as any American news reporter will tell you. Allegedly.
 
brownmane said:
It states that they (law enforcement) are complying with a law that prohibits them from sharing suspects' photos. These people have not been proven guilty of anything at this point.

So how could they do this to begin with?
Click to expand...

And also, in any given line-up, surely only one person is the suspect? Isn't that the point? So 4 out of 5 aren't even suspects.
 
brownmane said:
Where is the "innocent until proven guilty" ideal?

It states that they (law enforcement) are complying with a law that prohibits them from sharing suspects' photos. These people have not been proven guilty of anything at this point.

So how could they do this to begin with?
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Because America. Land of the free, justice for some.

In The Netherlands, a suspect wouldn't even have their surname made public.
 
When you actually track back to the source, it appears that although this is being done with one eye on current legislation, it's also being exercised with tongue firmly in cheek.

It also appears to be centred on the department's social media output, and in the context of community relations, rather than in any actual investigatory context: no-one's actually being expected to use a line up like the one in the article for identification purposes - seems to be more of a case of, This is what we've done this week, we can't show you any faces, but - still - you get the point:

"It's just a little fun to get some attention," said Lt. Jeremy Durrant, with the Murrieta Police Department. "Game the social media algorithms, gain some traction, likes and follows, stuff like that."

Durrant said the Murrieta Police Department first started posting mugshots on its social media accounts about five years ago. At the time, they did not cover the faces of suspects.

"We began publishing a weekly roundup where we started putting out booking photographs of arrests we made during the week," said Durrant.

But they didn't always get the reaction they were seeking.

"Those posts would sometimes get a little off track and focus more on the physical appearance of the suspects that we posted about versus the story and the good work our officers were doing," said Durrant.

Then, in 2021, the state legislature passed laws preventing law enforcement from posting mugshots on their social media accounts, except in certain situations. That's when the department began using emojis to block the faces of suspects seen in arrest photos.

They eventually settled on LEGO heads.

"I think the community enjoys it," said Durrant. "They like that we're putting out the work that we're doing, and at the same time, making it a little humorous."
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Source
 
Spookdaddy said:
When you actually track back to the source, it appears that although this is being done with one eye on current legislation, it's also being exercised with tongue firmly in cheek.

It also appears to be centred on the department's social media output, and in the context of community relations, rather than in any actual investigatory context: no-one's actually being expected to use a line up like the one in the article for identification purposes - seems to be more of a case of, This is what we've done this week, we can't show you any faces, but - still - you get the point:


Source
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THAT'S what I missed. I (once again) didn't read the full article.
 

Lego stops police from using toy heads to hide suspects’ identities​

Murrieta Police Department in California had been posting photos on Instagram of captured suspects with their faces covered by a Lego head.

But Lego wasn’t too pleased and have put a stop to it.

The police department said in a statement: ‘The Lego Group reached out to us and respectfully asked us to refrain from using their intellectual property in our social media content which of course we understand and will comply with.’
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