Relates to when booking photographs taken after arrest of a person or the defendant shall be made publicly available

1 Co-sponsor

• Bill Perkins

BILL NUMBER:S7304

Title of bill

An act to amend the criminal procedure law and the civil rights law, in relation to when booking photographs shall be made available

Purpose

To prevent booking photographs, also known as "mug shots," from being made available to the public, with certain exceptions.

Summary of provisions

Section 1. Amends Subdivision 3 of Section 160.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law, which permits a booking photograph and palmprints to be taken of an arrested person or defendant. The amendment to this section requires that a photograph taken pursuant to this subdivision may not be made publicly available during the pendency of the charge or charges brought with respect to the arrest. However, there are three exceptions.

The first exception is release to a person, agency or entity performing a criminal justice function, as defined in subdivision 10 of section 835 of the executive law; the second exception is release of the photograph pursuant to a court order directing the release of such photograph; and the third exception is release to the arrested person or defendant, upon his request.

Section 2. Amends Section 51 of the Civil Rights Law to correct a reference to Section 50 of the Civil Rights Law. This change is non-substantive.

Section 3. Contains the effective date.

Justification

In recent years, booking photographs, or "mug shots" as they are commonly known, have become available on the Internet. The mug shots are often released by police departments to local newspapers and other media. Following the release of mug shots to the press, Internet website owners and operators search local newspapers for mug shots to post on their websites. These owners may also obtain the mug shots from filing requests for public records. These websites are often the first results when an individual is looked up on search engines.

It is important to note that mug shots are not proof of a conviction. Many of the individuals whose mug shots are on the Internet were not charged or have not been convicted. In 2012 in New York, 44% percent of individuals arrested were not convicted. However, because of the mug shots, they may be prevented from obtaining or keeping their jobs, and there could be other negative consequences as a result. Mug shot website owners have been taking advantage of these individuals by charging exorbitant fees for the removal of these photographs from their websites and this legislation would help to prevent such extortion from taking place.

This legislation would prohibit mug shots from becoming publicly available until conviction, with certain exceptions for criminal justice functions and compliance with court orders. A valid law enforcement purpose also includes use by defense attorneys, and allows for publication by newspapers to aid in the arrest or apprehension of wanted criminals. The mug shots are also available upon request to the arrested person.

Persons who use any image for purposes of advertising or trade without consent may, under existing law, be subject to civil suit.

Prior legislative history

None.

Fiscal implications

None to state.

Effective date

The sixtieth day after the section shall become law.