Lego head mugshots add to California’s debate on policing and privacy

LOS ANGELES — A police department in Southern California has become enthralled by Lego after the toy company asked the agency to stop adding Lego heads to cover the faces of suspects in images it shares on social media.

Murrieta police have been using Lego heads and emojis to cover people’s faces in posts on social sites since early 2023. But the altered photos went viral last week after police posted a statement about its policy, prompting several news articles and, later, Lego’s request.

“Why the covered faces?” the department wrote on March 18 in an Instagram post that showed five people standing in a line, their faces covered by Lego heads with different expressions. The message further referenced a California law that went into effect Jan. 1 that limited departments from sharing mugshots on social media.

“The Murrieta Police Department prides itself on transparency with the community, but also respects everyone’s rights & protection as provided by law; even suspects,” the department wrote.

Across the U.S., law enforcement agencies have often posted “Mugshot Mondays” and “Wanted Wednesdays” photo galleries on social media in an effort to increase community involvement. But experts are increasingly pointing out the harmful consequences of putting such images online. For people awaiting trial, mugshots can imply a presumption of guilt. And for anyone looking to put a criminal conviction behind them, the images can make it difficult to find a job and haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Under California’s new law, police departments and sheriff’s offices are now required to delete any booking photo they’ve shared on social media — including of people arrested for violent crimes — within 14 days, unless there are specific circumstances, such as the person remains a fugitive and poses an imminent threat. to public safety.

It builds on an earlier version that came into effect in 2022. The previous law prohibited the posting of mugshots of all non-violent offenders unless those circumstances exist. It also said departments must remove mugshots already posted on social media that identify any suspect who requests them if they can prove their record has been sealed, their conviction expunged or they have been found not guilty, among a handful of others reasons.

The Murrieta Police Department had an internal discussion about posting photos of arrestees in general and announced a new department policy on Instagram in January 2023. The community had been asking for more of their “Weekly Roundup” posts, so the department said it started using the Lego heads and emojis to comply with the law while staying in touch with Murrieta residents.

But on March 19, the toy company reached out and “respectfully asked us to refrain from using their intellectual property in our social media content, which we obviously understand and will comply with,” Lt. Jeremy Durrant said in a statement.

“We are currently exploring other methods to continue publishing our content in a way that is engaging and interesting to our followers,” Durrant wrote, declining further comment.

Lego did not respond to multiple emails seeking comment.

The California bill’s lead sponsor, Assemblymember Corey Jackson, said that while the Lego heads protect people’s privacy, he wonders how Murrieta residents view them.

“Do they want people, who are paid with their tax dollars, to be paid to put Lego faces on people so it can be shown on social media? When they could be doing other things that could protect them? Jackson told the Associated Press. “That’s up to them to decide.”

While Murrieta’s use of Lego heads follows the law, Jackson said other agencies try to find loopholes by posting images showing suspects in the backs of police cars or handcuffed at crime scenes, arguing that this is not the same as booking photos. He said his staff is seeking legal advice from the Justice Department.

“If law enforcement wants the public to trust them and support them when they say they want to implement law and order, how can their active playfulness in circumventing the law help them achieve that?” he said.