By Joanna Putman
Police1
MURRIETA, Calif. — The Murrieta Police Department has been posting mug shots with Lego heads obscuring the suspects’ faces on social media this year. A March 18 Instagram post explained why.
The department explained that a California law that went into effect on Jan. 1 restricted how and when agencies can share mugshots. Images of suspects involved in non-violent crimes are now prohibited from being posted on social media in most circumstances. Furthermore, mugshots must be removed from social media pages after 14 days.
“The Murrieta Police Department prides itself in its transparency with the community, but also honors everyone’s rights & protections as afforded by law; even suspects,” the post read. “In order to share what is happening in Murrieta, we chose to cover the faces of suspects to protect their identity while still aligning with the new law.”
While some of the comments complained about California laws protecting criminals, others pointed out that they liked the department’s approach.
“The Lego faces are better anyways😂,” Instagram user sp_mopar wrote.
“Thank you MPD for always being supportive and involved in our community regardless of all the challenges you face. 👍✌️🚔,” Instagram user perlamima_aka_bam stated.