It’s hard not to think that every arrest ends with a photo being uploaded online, thanks to the abundance of mugshot websites and public databases available. But that’s not always true. After you find an arrest record, no doubt your looking for a mugshot to go along with their arrest history, or even your own and then ask yourself; why are some mugshots not online? They range from legal protections to basic policy choices.
Let’s explore the key explanations.
1. No Mugshot Taken at All
No photo you can find if it does not exist.
- For example, if someone is cited and released (which most often happens with traffic violations but also for bench warrants or low-level misdemeanors), no formal booking will occur.
- Information on the site also explains if a person turns themselves in or takes part in pretrial diversion, they can skip mugshot procedures.
- There is no image to upload or store since it does not exist there.
This is quite possibly the easiest explanation why are some mugshots not online to begin with.
2. The Importance of Jurisdiction
Each police department does not accept the same policy towards mugshots.
- Others keep mugshots in their own system so that they are not made public at all.
- Some only put out photographs in certain cases—violent crimes or high-profile murders, for example.
- And they might not have the digital infrastructure in smaller towns and rural counties to sustain public mugshot listings.
In short, this variation from place to place is a huge reason that some people make their way online and others don’t.
3. Photos will Be Kept Hid of Expunged or Sealed Records
If a record goes sealed or expunged then the same mugshot must go away.
- After a case has been dismissed or otherwise resolved short of conviction, courts often order the removal of all arrest-related materials from police files.
- In most states, certain types of first-time or non-violent offenses are sealable.
- Healthy – once passed, rules must be followed by websites and by law enforcement for takedowns.
It might have been taken down legally, since a photo existed at some point.
4. Changing Laws Limit Public Access
As a direct response to the inappropriate use of mugshots within the criminal justice system, a few states have, in essence, amended the regulations.
- Mugshots cannot be upload for any non-violent/dismissed cases, as accomplished in states like Georgia, California, and Utah.
- That protects individuals who are innocent from being internet trafficked in perpetuity.
- Some mugshot sites have even stopped after facing lawsuits and legal troubles for publishing certain arrests.
This policy shift is a big part of why are some mugshots not online anymore (even if they used to be).
5. Takedowns and Search Engine Suppression
The photo sometimes is deleted even after the picture gets public.
- Mugshots regularly become the target of requests to remove from websites by both attorneys and privacy services.
- Sites that exploit mugshot content, especially with ransom like payment-to-delete campaigns have been cracked down on by search engines like Google.
- Therefore, a large number of images are de-indexed to take up a lot of positions in search results.
But this is a continuous process to stop exposing more mugshots.
Disappearing for Good: Final Notes
If a mugshot is not readily available online doesn’t mean it was never taken and/or an arrest did not happen. This could be because their cases were dismissed, their records sealed or because the local agency opted not to release the photo in the first place.
At a time when the issue of digital privacy has become more urgent, fewer mugshots appearing in searches will be due to an increasing uptick in legal protections and takedown efforts—and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
