The Murrieta Police Department is using Lego heads to hide suspects’ identities in booking photos and mug shots to comply with a new California law that prevents police from sharing photos of individuals accused of nonviolent crimes.
“The Murrieta Police Department (MPD) prides itself in its transparency with the community, but also honors everyone’s rights & protections as afforded by law; even suspects,” a post on its social media reads. “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,” it added.
The law — Assembly Bill 994 and Penal Code 13665 — also requires that mugshots posted on social media be deleted after 14 days unless special circumstances exist.
