EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — Love it or hate it, social media has become an important part of all our lives and it's no different for law enforcement agencies. But, this year these agencies won't be able to post the same things they have in the past.
A new California law took effect January 1, 2024, prohibiting agencies from posting most mugshots on social media.
Established in 1850, mugshots have historically been an important part of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.
Now, in 2024, social media has become one of the most important modern communication tools.
“Social media has taken over, in some sense, print media [and] even television as a major source for news to get handed down,” said Sgt. Kyle Parker with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.
But the sheriff’s office is making a change in how it posts mugshots on social media.
“We're in the process of going back through our social media accounts and removing those mug shots that were on there,” said Parker.
The reason for the change is a new law stemming from Assemblymember Corey Jackson’s bill — AB 994.
“If you are arrested for a nonviolent crime, then it is prohibited for law enforcement to put a booking photo on social media,” said Jackson.
He wants to make it clear that just because you’re accused of a crime doesn't mean you're guilty.
“We want to make sure that we protect people because it's automatically assumed that if law enforcement is putting your photo on there, you did something wrong,” said Jackson.
The law also requires law enforcement to remove any previous mugshots from nonviolent crimes from social media, something many agencies have already started doing.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office has taken on its own version of posting ‘mugshots.’
“Showing an arrest or someone who is being taken into custody and put into the back of a patrol car, or walking into our facility,” said Parker.
Jackson reiterates this is only a social media issue.
“Nothing prohibits people, the law enforcement, from putting it on their own website,” he said.
For now, the sheriff’s office promises to continue doing its job while being as transparent as possible.
“We all make mistakes, our actions have consequences, and we want to still preserve everyone's public right or their own inherent right,” said Parker.
The new law still allows law enforcement to post mugshots on social media if a person is accused of a violent crime or if there is a threat to public safety.
WATCH MORE ON ABC10: These new California laws go into effect on January 1
