Should Mugshots be Made Private?
One woman’s argument that criminals don’t deserve privacy
Disclaimer: Names have been changed to respect anonymity of the victim. I have full rights by the victim to share this story.
When a criminal is arrested, their entire life changes. The crime is put on a permanent record and becomes public knowledge. A database entry is created to host the details of their crime as well as the criminal’s personal details. Their mugshot is also taken, and may be circulated publicly. This lack of privacy harms criminals once released, as it creates obstacles in finding a job or applying for financial aid. I believe, however, that criminals should not expect any rights to their privacy once the crime is committed. The story of my coworker, Janine, demonstrates how this lack of privacy with mugshots actually benefits the community, especially women.
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Janine dated a man named Corey for eight years and thought they were in love. When her friends told her that he was not in love, but obsessed with her, she didn’t believe them. Over time, she saw the truth in her friends’ statements, and decided to break it off with Corey. She told him they should take a break and move out to separate houses. He reluctantly agreed. As soon as the move was complete, Janine made it clear that it was over; this was when a shift began in Corey’s behavior. He started visiting Janine’s new house regularly to confront her for leaving him. He followed her and her new boyfriend everywhere, showing up at events spontaneously in a rage. Janine found a tracker on her car, and went to the police to file a restraining order against her former lover. Corey would go on to break the order, leading Janine to threaten his arrest should he break it again. When Corey showed up at her daughter’s softball game, Janine finally had him arrested. His mugshot went public, and was made available to see immediately.
Over the next few years, Janine would receive Facebook messages in regards to Corey from other women. They would often write to thank her for having him arrested; they had seen his mugshot and broken off any ties to him, only to deal with his stalker tendencies as well. Some women completely avoided a relationship with the man once they had seen the mugshot, and had been relieved once Janine informed them of what would have happened.
These women were saved a life of anxiety and hiding by seeing this man’s mugshot. According to the Office of Victims of Crime, sponsored by the National Center for Victims of Crime, “eighty-seven percent of stalkers identified by their victims are male” (National Center for Victims of Crime, 2026). They go on to report that “one out of every 12 women (8,200,000)…in the United States have been stalked at some time in their lives” (National Center for Victims of Crime, 2026). Men stalking women is a serious, ongoing problem. The only way to stop this particular crime is to go to law enforcement and pursue legal action, such as obtaining restraining orders. Once arrested, the stalker’s mugshot becomes available, and other women become aware of a man they know is actually dangerous. The women who contacted Janine avoided the scary reality that Janine was forced to face as a result of her former relationship with Corey. Had his mugshot not been available, they would have made the same mistakes. Furthermore, if Janine had allowed Corey to continuously break the restraining order, or had simply not filed the order, Corey could have become violent. Janine may have very well saved her own life and the lives of other women by having Corey arrested. The Office of Victims of Crime stated that “in a 1-year period, women are…two times more likely to be physically assaulted than stalked” (National Center for Victims of Crime, 2026). In other words, the longer the stalking had continued, the more likely it would be that Corey would have physically assaulted Janine. Corey’s arrest and mugshot, however, prevented this possibility from becoming a reality.
Criminals like Corey do not deserve privacy in regards to their mugshots. Janine may have saved the lives of many women by placing a restraining order against Corey, and eventually having him arrested. Her actions prevented many more women from having relationships with this particularly dangerous man. The community was made a safer place as a result, seeing as Corey’s actions were tapered by his public mugshot. Criminal mugshots must be made available to inform the community of possible dangers to society. The purpose of mugshots is to identify criminals so that the public is made aware of who is a convict, and what crime they committed. This fact doesn’t change based on who you are; both the average person and a celebrity can expect their mugshots to be available to all. Overall, criminals do not have a right to privacy when speaking to their mugshots, as it’s a matter of public safety. For the benefit of the community, the right to privacy is given up. I believe this is a necessary sacrifice in order to keep communities safe; for the betterment of society, the privacy of criminals must not exist.
References:
National Center for Victims of Crime. (2026). OVC Help Services: Stalking Victimization. OVC. https://ovc.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh226/files/pubs/OVC_Archives/reports/help_series/pdftxt/stalkingvictimization.pdf
