NEW YORK LOOKING TO REVAMP MUG SHOT SYSTEM

May 26 2009

Albany, NY – The three branches of law and order have long played a fundamental part in human society. Some would say that the existence of such a philosophy is the basis and reason for the very foundations of society and civilization as a whole. Of those three branches – enforcement, judicial, and incarceration – one bears the brunt
of the attention. Police and other enforcement officials are most often the point of controversy but is also the branch that does that majority of the work. That work though often goes unnoticed, and the state of New York is looking to change that.

Faced with ever deepening budget shortfalls, the state has been looking for more and more ways to generate revenue and cut costs and believe that a new proposal to revamp the mug shot system could address both needs. A proposal set before Governor David Paterson would outsource the photographing of criminals to professional photographers, cutting out the lengthy, costly, and poorly lit process of having police officers take pictures. The mug shots would then be used by the photographers to be sold as stock photos leaving police agencies with no expenses for the process.

“It’s an interesting idea but could end up being self defeating in the long term. If police agencies start to adopt this countrywide we could end up with a glut of stock photos of prisoners. If that is going to be the sole source of monetization this could end up with an early death,” said Scrape TV Crime analyst Willard Weston. “There may be other avenues in which to sell these photos though and if they could somehow mature that market there might be hope. Internet dating sites, fake ids, and of course selling the mug shots to territories without photography are all possibilities. Overseas sales could do quite well, especially in Europe.”

In an effort to increase the saleability of the photos, the proposal also includes provisions for creative licence in the mug shots. Traditionally mug shots are composed of a single front profile shot with the offender’s information, but the new proposal would allow more traditional modeling techniques.

“It would be a challenge but perhaps a welcome one for small scale photographers. People who are used to shooting school pictures might find a whole new avenue of expression and creative outlet. Who knows, there might be a new Annie Leibovitz somewhere out there,” continued Weston. “Sometimes creative people need an opportunity. Sometimes that means a shot at the big time; sometimes that means motivation, a kind of spark. This could be both.”

Traditionally professional photographers have stayed away from prison photography, but the creators of the bill are hoping to draw major stars in the field in an effort to popularize the new process as well as to lobby the governor for implementation. Such notables as Leibovitz and Sebastiao Salgado, and Anne Geddes are some of the names suggested.

“By bringing high level artists in they can legitimize the form and allow people to understand that it isn’t simply a cash grab but a whole new venue for creation and artistic expression. It has the added benefit of helping ease economic woes, but if it really takes off that might only be a secondary consideration,” continued Weston. “Celebrities and models have long dominated the camera lenses of the world but this slice of life kind of expression has almost become a lost expression of the form. Not only will this benefit the economy of the country but if it is successful it could have an enormous impact on the future of art in general.”

It’s not immediately clear how the new rules will affect celebrity arrests.

Mike Michaels, American Correspondent

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