Online Mugshots: Vulnerability, Commoditization, and Devastation

Abstract

My research exploring the legislative debate around online mugshots began in 2015 while interning at the now defunct Council on Crime and Justice (CCJ). As a graduate student studying social work and public policy, I have a passion for criminal justice reform, and my supervisor at CCJ tasked me and a fellow intern with learning more about the proliferation of websites that were profiting from and exploiting open records laws throughout the country by legally obtaining and widely disseminating mugshots on the internet for profit. Our goal then was the same as mine remains today: Devise legislation to curb this practice and mitigate one of the many collateral consequences facing people who have entered the criminal justice system in America. We knew then we faced an uphill battle, with multiple bills dying in the Minnesota legislature in 2014 (Minnesota H.F. 1933, 2014; Minnesota H.F. 1940, 2014). As such, we set out to meet with the advocates and stakeholders whom we knew to have a strong stake in the debate, most notably lobbyists for First Amendment rights, government transparency, and the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association. Only with these perspectives in hand could we consider approaching legislators and persuading them to put forth new legislation.