Vermont police weigh mug shots on social media

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Make one mistake, and your mug can end up all over social media. Make two, and you might attract a storm of comments on some Vermont law enforcement Facebook pages.

But where is the line between the public's right to know and the rights of suspects to move on with their lives?

The South Burlington Police Department made the decision earlier this month to cease posting mug shots on Facebook. The chief — in a Facebook post on Independence Day — wrote there often was "a flurry of inappropriate comments," and the pictures could be harmful to someone who might be successful in a restorative justice program, is not subsequently charged or eventually has charges dismissed.

"I realize that this change in policy will result with a mix of reaction," wrote Chief Trevor Whipple. "I appreciate the discussion that has been held between myself and those who fall on both sides of this topic."

"In the end," the post continued, "I believe the best course of action is to no longer post mug shots to the Police Department Facebook page."

All mug shots that had appeared on the page previously were deleted last week, Whipple confirmed. The chief said his department had weighed public transparency versus posting the images.

The decision was made after careful consideration and took into account thoughts from the community, Whipple said in an interview. The department had been posting mug shots for about two years.

"When it was first proposed to me, it was a great idea," Whipple said of the initial decision to post mug shots. "We're in an era where we want to be transparent, we want the world to know what we're doing and how we're doing it, and when I look at problems around the country about loss of trust in a police agency, much of it is because of the lack of transparency.

"By putting up mug shots," the chief continued, "I thought it was a great way to say, 'Here's the folks we're engaging with in an arrest situation,' and to let the world know. That way, if there was concern about any sort of targeting, profiling, you name it, it could be seen."

A few months ago, everything changed with the way community members reacted to mug shot posts on Facebook, Whipple said.

"It suddenly evolved into almost an area of amusement to make fun of and humiliate, in some cases, people who had been arrested," he said. "This was not my intent; it was not what the goal of putting mug shots on Facebook was. That, and it became a permanent record of something that might not be permanent in the end. The court might rule otherwise."

Mug shots will continue to be shared with journalists through regular media release protocols, he added. The photos also are accessible through Vermont public-records requests. South Burlington police also will continue to post arrest narratives and news releases, Whipple said.

Whipple said the response to the department's decision has been mostly positive.

RIGHT TO KNOW?

Suspects taken into custody typically give their information and fingerprints to the police and stand for a mug shot. The police then often distribute the photo to the media, who choose whether to make public the story.

Some law enforcement take transparency to the next level, posting mug shots on Facebook pages where strangers and community members alike produce a string of comments — and occasionally are joined by the accused in the discussion.

The Winooski Police Department updates its Facebook page weekly, posting narratives of arrests and the mug shots of the accused, Chief Rick Hebert said.

"Our policy is two things: First is that we owe it to the public that we serve to keep them aware of what's going on in the city of Winooski, and the second is that we feel that under the Freedom of Information Act that we're just taking part in that by releasing that information," Hebert said.

Hebert said all of Whipple's reasons for discontinuing the posting of mug shots are valid.

"I just stand behind the fact that I feel that we owe it to the society we serve to provide this information," he said. "We're not out to subject anyone to ridicule or public humiliation in any way. It's just information sharing."

EVALUATING THE GOAL

Whipple said the department's commitment to restorative justice was a large factor in the policy change.

"One of the tenants of a restorative process is if you embrace this restorative process, and you're successful, then you'll leave it without a record and hopefully learning a whole lot about yourself and about how your actions have harmed others," Whipple said. "The reality is, once it's been on the Web, I don't think it ever goes away."

Rutland City, Vt., police avoid posting mug shots on Facebook because that is not the department's aim with the social medium, Acting Chief David Covell said.

"Our Facebook page is designed primarily to keep the public informed about what's going on in their community and what's going on inside their police department," Covell said. "It's not designed to be a who's who photo gallery of who we've recently arrested."

Whipple acknowledged there is always room for change or adjustment of policy in the future. Social media is one area where Whipple said his department will continue to reevaluate its approach.

"At the end of the day, I don't regret doing it for the time we did," Whipple said. "I think the reason was honorable, we did it with good intention, but I think it is a good lesson in reviewing what you do and even though you're doing something for the honorable reason, it makes sense and it's accomplishing the goal you want, that sometimes things change and maybe we need to change how we do business."