When you take mug shot photos...

**suncrafter** · 07-15-07, 10:26 PM

When you take mug shot photos of prisoners - do you ever have the problem of them not looking 'normal'. For example the guy keeps his eyes closed, or has his tongue out the whole time, or keeps his eyes crossed, or keeps his cheeks full of air, or he squints or he juts out his jaw like that guy from 'Sling Blade'? Perhaps he might do it to prevent being recognized or perhaps he's just a big jerk.

1) How often does that happen?

2) What do you do about it?

3) Is it a crime to do that? If so, what is the penalty?

4) Can the guy just smile or grin if he wants to?

**gozling** · 07-15-07, 10:41 PM

hmmm i dont take any photos of them.. the jail guys do...
but often in the jail in the booking room the corrections officers are yelling at the subjects quite a bit lol... so I guess they have problems.

**Jks9199** · 07-15-07, 11:02 PM

If I'm taking booking or suspect photos, I pretty much insist on decent expressions... In other words, Paris wouldn't have gotten to do her coy camera pose.

Of course, my favorites are the mug shots where you also see a couple of extra hands holding the head in place...

**jmur5074** · 07-15-07, 11:03 PM

1.Very rarely

2.If they don't want to look at the camera, we'll hold them in place. The judge always set "cooperate with and complete the booking process" as part of a release condition, so if they don't cooperate, they don't get released.

3.No, not around here it isn't.

4.Yes, they can smile.

**suncrafter** · 07-20-07, 11:50 PM

Thank you for your answers.

**lynnz05** · 07-20-07, 11:53 PM

Usually I just have ones that are crying

1. Not very often

2. Just let it go pretty much, unless it's really bad then we usually just tell them to try to look normal or something, or like what JMur said they don't get released

3. Not a crime here

4. Yea they can smile

I just realized this was in ask-a-cop and I responded...if thats a problem someone can delete my post. I just thought I'd answer since mugshots is in my job description

**lewisipso** · 07-21-07, 12:35 AM

LRS 14:133.2. Misrepresentation during booking.
A. Misrepresentation during booking is the misrepresentation
of, or refusal by a person being booked to provide his name, age, sex, residence, or social security number to any law enforcement officer or official who is booking him pursuant to a lawful arrest, or the refusal of such person to submit to fingerprinting or photographing.
B. Whoever commits the crime of misrepresentation during
booking shall be imprisoned for not more than six months, provided
that any such sentence shall be made to run concurrently with any
other sentence.

And yes an improper photo is a refusal.

**Claude Baulz** · 07-21-07, 08:17 PM

I have had way more problems printing people than photographing them.

We use "livescan" finger printing (no ink and paper) and between bad/dirty fingers, picky machines that act up, and prisoners who try to do the printing themselves, there are sometimes issues.

**lynnz05** · 07-21-07, 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by Claude Baulz

I have had way more problems printing people than photographing them.

We use "livescan" finger printing (no ink and paper) and between bad/dirty fingers, picky machines that act up, and prisoners who try to do the printing themselves, there are sometimes issues.

We use that too, our machine is so slow and if you screw up prints it's a pain in the ass to go back and try to find them. I hate fingerprinting alot, I usually let the male C/O I'm working with do it