Mugshots are photos taken by law enforcement agencies after an arrest and entered into a database. They date back to the 19th century and were inspired by photographs of Lincoln’s conspirators. Mugshots usually consist of front and profile images, and are used for identification purposes. They were originally stored in physical filing systems but are now stored in computer databases. Mugshots can be freely published in publications or online, but some courts do not allow their use in trial presentations due to potential negative associations.
A mugshot is an identifying photograph used by law enforcement agencies. These photographs are usually taken after an arrest and entered into a database. They date back to the 19th century, and some sources credit the infamous photographs of conspirators involved in the assassination of US President Abraham Lincoln with initiating the practice of criminal photographic identification.
Oftentimes, the famous and infamous Detective Allan Pinkerton is credited with creating the first mugshot databases. Pinkerton, while hardly a man of impeccable reputation, is nonetheless often cited as the father of modern investigative procedure, including the use of shared databases for identification purposes. Pinkerton is said to have been inspired by photographs of the Lincoln conspirators during the implementation of his mug shot system in the 1860s. Earlier inspiration can also be attributed to artistic renditions of fugitive criminals, also known as “wanted” posters, which were popular in the days before photography. These images served to put both civilians and law enforcement on the lookout for a fugitive in the area.
Until the advent of computers and digital cameras, the mug shot was taken with the arrestee holding a tag with his name and a reference number. Today, that data is usually entered by digital technology. Whereas the photo would originally have been stored in physical filing systems, most identification systems today work entirely through computer databases. Shared databases can help law enforcement coordinate efforts, ensuring that a person with other warrants at the time of arrest is quickly identified.
A mugshot usually consists of two images: a front view and a profile picture. These images were once used to create rogue galleries, which are bulletin boards covered with photos of wanted criminals, used to remind law enforcement agencies of their primary targets. In many regions, they are public domain images and can be freely published in publications or online. In most cases, any mugshot of any person can be obtained as long as the criminal case has not been sealed by a judge.
Some courts and regions do not allow the use of an identifying mugshot as part of a trial presentation. According to some rulings, this is because juries may have an automatic negative association with these familiar images, which may recall prejudicial views of Old West “wanted” posters and other criminal imagery. A mugshot is intended only as a record of an arrest and does not mean that a person has been charged or convicted of any type of crime.
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