A mug book is a collection of mugshots used by law enforcement to narrow down possible suspects. They must be carefully constructed to avoid prejudging a witness. Mug books are divided by characteristics such as gender, race, age, and hair color. Computerized imaging systems are replacing traditional mug books. Mug shots are legal proof and not protected by the Fourth Amendment.
A mug book is a collection of mugshots, which are photographs of criminals taken upon their arrest. They must be carefully constructed with similar images together to avoid prejudging a witness. The purpose of the mug book is to narrow down possible suspects and is not used to convict criminals.
Cup books are often used before an arrest, similar to how physical training is used after an arrest. Law enforcement officials keep the cup books on file. When a crime occurs, officials often take six or more similar criminal photographs from a book of mugs and mount them on a billboard for use as a photographic spread.
Officials present the released photo to individual witnesses. The witness then tries to identify the perpetrator in question from the photo of him. If the witness identifies a photo, the photo is distributed to local law enforcement who are looking for the criminal, and the card is kept as evidence.
When law enforcement officers create a mug book, they must follow certain procedures to ensure that no photograph stands out. If a photo is different from those around it, that difference could prejudice the witness. Color images are kept separate from black and white, and images are grouped by size.
The cup books are also divided by characteristics such as gender, race, age, and even hair color. If the witness reports that a man has committed a crime, law enforcement will only show them mug shots of men, not women. The division will be as specific as the witness information permits.
Occasionally, the police form separate record books for specific crimes. Because many offenders are repeat offenders, a search can often be shortened by first looking at people who have been arrested for similar crimes in the past. This is especially common among sex offenders.
Computerized imaging systems are slowly replacing traditional mug books in many places around the world. These systems store all the criminals’ mugshots and sketches and organize them into different categories. Officials can quickly narrow down the images involved by selecting certain criteria. This allows law enforcement agencies to quickly search the database and build a widespread picture.
In the United States, the Fourth Amendment protects suspects from unreasonable search and seizure. Law enforcement agencies must be able to demonstrate probable cause in order to receive a search warrant to gather evidence. Because a person’s appearance is public knowledge, it is not protected by the Fourth Amendment. Therefore, a mug book is considered legal proof.
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