Des Moines, Iowa (RI)– Legislators are considering restrictions on the release of booking photos taken when someone is taken into custody and charged with a crime.
Bills in both the House and Senate would make most booking photos confidential records that could only be released if the person in the photo is a fugitive, an imminent threat to the public or has been convicted of certain felonies. Representative Bill Gustoff says occasionally someone gets arrested, charged, and booked into jail — then the charges are dismissed.
Gustoff says under America’s criminal justice system someone is to be considered innocent until proven guilty — but having a booking photo published in the media or posted on the internet sends a different message.
Gustoff, a Republican from a Des Moines suburb called Saylor Township, is an attorney, but he does not handle criminal cases. However, he has had relatives and friends who’ve been wrongly accused. The bill was discussed last year, but did not become law.
Law enforcement officials say Gustoff’s bill would create extra work for police and sheriff’s departments who would have to verify if a person was convicted or pleaded guilty every time they get a public records request for a mug shot. Media organizations say having booking photos publicly available provides transparency in law enforcement and, in some instances, can help someone with the same name as a person under arrest prove they are not charged with a crime.