Lego is known as a line of construction toys made of plastic or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or ABS. It is created and produced by a privately held company that is based in Denmark called the Lego Group. The pieces of Lego can be arranged and connected to build a lot of different kinds of objects, including buildings, vehicles, and working robots. After getting arranged and connected, they can be taken apart to be reused to create new constructions.
Lego has always been seen as something positive, something that challenges creativity and makes people happy. However, a few days ago, it is related to law because the company asked California police to stop using toy heads to cover suspect photos or mugshots. Are you curious why they do that? Find out the answer below.
Controversy
Apparently, the Murrieta Police Department has been covering the faces of the arrested people by using Lego heads since November 2022. The photos that they edit became a hot topic a few days ago after they posted something on Facebook and Instagram entitled “Why the covered faces?”. In the photo, five people were seen in a lineup with their faces covered by Lego heads with different expressions.
In order to increase community engagement, a lot of law enforcement agencies across the United States have usually shared photos with captions such as “Mugshot Mondays” and “Wanted Wednesdays”. They do it after having an internal discussion about sharing photos of detainees in general. They think it is still find as it still complies with law while at the same time they can interact with the residents of Murrieta.
On March 19, 2024, Lego contacted a Southern California Police Department regarding the issue. As told by Lt. Jeremy Durrant to The Associated Press, Lego respectfully asked them to refrain from using their intellectual property in their social media content. The man said that they will comply with it. He added that currently, they are trying to find other methods to continue sharing their content in a way that is engaging and interesting to their followers.
As stated on their Facebook account, the Murrieta Police Department always tries their best to be transparent with the community. At the same time, they also honor everyone’s rights and protections as afforded by law, even suspects. They protect the identities of the suspects according to the law. However, the reason why they upload photos to social media is to openly share the things that are happening in the city. That’s why they cover their faces.
The main sponsor of the California law, Assembly member Corey Jackson, is wondering what the residents of Murrieta thought when seeing such photos. He told The Associated Press that he wants to know if the residents prefer the authorities to put Logo emojis on the detainees’ face and show them on social media or to do other things that can protect them.
While according to law there is nothing wrong with using Logo heads on the photos of the detainees, Jackson said that other agencies may follow their footstep but in different ways. For instance, they may share images of suspects in the back of police cruisers or handcuffed at crime scenes and claim that they are different from booking photos.
Reasons Why California Police Was Asked by Lego to Stop Using Toy Heads to Cover Suspect Photos
For anyone who is wondering why Lego asked the California police to stop using toy heads to cover suspect photos or mugshots, they actually did not state their reasons. However, some experts have pointed out the harmful effects of putting these kinds of images online. If the people in the photos are those awaiting trial, people may think that they are guilty. Even those who have been released from the incarcerated facility still can get affected. For example, it can be hard for them to find a job.
Laws
There is a new law under California that requires the police departments and sheriff’s offices to get rid of any booking photo they have shared on social media, including people who were arrested for violent offenses, within 14 days with the exception of certain circumstances, such as that individual is still a fugitive and considered a threat to public safety. The Assembly Bill 994 that has been passed by the state is as follows:
“Existing law requires law enforcement agencies, departments, or entities to consider specified best practices regarding the downloading and storage of body-worn camera data, including prohibiting agency personnel from uploading recorded data onto public and social media internet websites, when establishing policies and procedures for the implementation and operation of a body-worn camera system.
Existing law prohibits a police department or sheriff’s office from sharing, on social media, booking photos of an individual arrested on suspicion of committing a nonviolent crime, as defined, unless specified circumstances exist. Existing law requires a police department or sheriff’s office that shares, on social media, a booking photo of an individual arrested for the suspected commission of a nonviolent crime to remove the information from its social media page, upon request, unless the same specified circumstances exist. Existing law also requires a police department or sheriff’s office to remove the booking photo of a person who has committed any other crime from social media if the individual’s record has been sealed, the individual’s conviction has been dismissed, expunged, pardoned, or eradicated, the individual has been issued a certificate of rehabilitation, the individual is found not guilty of committing the crime for which they were arrested, or the individual was ultimately not charged with the crime or the charges were dismissed.
With respect to an individual who has been arrested for any crime, this bill would require a police department or sheriff’s office, upon posting a booking photo on social media, to use the name and pronouns given by the individual arrested. The bill would authorize a police department or sheriff’s office to use other legal names or known aliases of an individual in limited specified circumstances. This bill would also require that a police department or sheriff’s office remove any booking photo shared on social media after 14 days unless specified circumstances exist. Because the bill would impose higher duties on local law enforcement, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.”
On July 23, 2021, Penal Code 13665 was amended by the California Legislature. The intention was to prevent law enforcement agencies from posting photos of suspects arrested in nonviolent crimes. The details are as follows:
“Existing law requires law enforcement agencies, departments, or entities to consider specified best practices regarding the downloading and storage of body-worn camera data, including prohibiting agency personnel from uploading recorded data onto public and social media internet websites, when establishing policies and procedures for the implementation and operation of a body-worn camera system.
This bill would prohibit a police department or sheriff’s office from sharing, on social media, booking photos of an individual arrested on suspicion of committing a nonviolent crime, as defined, unless specified circumstances exist. The bill would require a police department or sheriff’s office that shares, on social media, a booking photo of an individual arrested for the suspected commission of a nonviolent crime to remove the information from its social media page, upon request, unless the same specified circumstances exist. The bill would require a police department or sheriff’s office to remove the booking photo of a person who has committed any other crime from social media if the individual’s record has been sealed, the individual’s conviction has been dismissed, expunged, pardoned, or eradicated pursuant to law, the individual has been issued a certificate of rehabilitation, the individual is found not guilty of committing the crime for which they were arrested, or the individual was ultimately not charged with the crime or the charges were dismissed.”
Bottom Line
In conclusion, the reasons why Lego asks California police to stop using toy heads to cover suspect photos are to prevent the public from thinking that they are guilty, because they may not be guilty. Aside from that, it is also to prevent the released incarcerated people from getting a hard time after their release due to such images.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
