Thread by @BradleyRHaywood

Been seeing a lot of "mugshot shaming" from Va. police dep'ts recently, incl. this example from Culpeper yesterday. I don't know how someone can look at these two faces (I made the redactions) and see anything other than the despair of addiction & a desperate need for help

1/5

Yet w/this single act of public humiliation, the Culpeper PD has made any path they might have to recovery & restoration that much more difficult. The photos are now a permanent part of the internet, available to schools, employers, child care providers, pretty much anyone.

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Envision a future we should all hope for the mother of this child: it's 5 yrs from now, she's successfully completed drug treatment, maintained sobriety, regained custody of her kid, went back to college, earned an associates degree, and is trying to join the workforce.

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Employment can be critical to avoiding relapse. But guess what? Employers use Google. These pics will be top results for her name for a long time. So, cops get their rocks off for a day;she's branded w/a scarlet letter in the form of a digital record that follows her forever

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This is why many contemporary police dep'ts & newsrooms have stopped "mugshot shaming": they know it’s counterproductive to rehabilitation & therefore detrimental to public safety. Those that haven't are doing their communities a tremendous disservice.
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buzzfeednews.com/article/tasnee…