Blocking out their identity! California police department shares photos of potential criminals with Lego pieces on their heads as new social media rules prevent law agencies from showing suspects faces online

A California police department has raised eyebrows after replacing suspects’ faces with Lego heads.

The Murrieta Police Department has made a habit of sharing hilarious images of suspected criminals on its Instagram, including some from the very moment they were handcuffed.

In a post shared Monday, the department explained that a new California law effective Jan. 1 prohibits them from sharing suspect photos and photos of nonviolent crimes, forcing their media team to get creative.

But while the law was passed earlier this year, Murrieta police have for several years covered suspects’ faces with everything from emojis to Shrek because they prioritize the presumption of innocence.

Murrieta PD often includes humorous captions when sharing a suspicious Lego photo, including a recent image where they say the officers won a game of “hide and seek” with a thief.

“Fortunately for the police, they were able to use GPS to locate the suspect,” added the police, saying that the suspect – with a sad bearded Lego for a head – had been found thanks to the stolen iPhone of the victims. he had forgotten to turn it off. .

In another, they replaced a suspect with a Shrek face because he “acted like an ogre” at a Target store while attempting to steal nearly $2,000 worth of items.

While praising their detective skills, many had taken to comments in the myriad posts to question why they were swapping heads, leading to Monday’s explanation.

“Why are these covered faces? they started.

“On January 1, a new law took effect that restricts how and when California law enforcement agencies share suspicious photos and photos.”

The department said the new law, Assembly Bill 994 and Penal Code 13665, prevents them from sharing suspicious images of nonviolent crimes — except in specified circumstances.

They added that the new law requires agencies to remove suspicious photos from social media after 14 days, unless there are special circumstances.

“The Murrieta Police Department prides itself on its transparency with the community, but also honors everyone’s rights and protections as provided by law; even suspects,” the message concludes.

“In order to share what is happening in Murrieta, we have chosen to cover the faces of suspects to protect their identities while complying with the new law.”

The Lego photos divide opinions, with some saying they are a fun way to get around the law, while others question whether they are appropriate and only serve to help lawbreakers.

One local commented that “Lego faces are killing me lmao,” and another opined that “Lego faces are better anyway.”

“Not everyone who gets arrested is guilty, and one day maybe it will be you,” another supporter added.

However, some have taken offense to the editorial skills and argued that it only serves to protect criminals.

“Who makes these laws? “” questioned one. “Damn, it seems there are more laws protecting criminals than law-abiding citizens.”

Another critic said it was “another L for California,” wondering, “Why does our law spend so much time and effort protecting criminals?” This is so retrograde.

Although the ministry said this was mandated by the Jan. 1 law, it clarified in a November article that the decision was made after deciding to prioritize the presumption of innocence of those arrested.

“The department has had an internal discussion about publishing the faces of those arrested in general. After weighing many factors, the department ultimately decided not to release the faces of those arrested,” they said.

“There are circumstances that require or warrant the assignment of an arrestee, but the department has decided that these will be the exceptions and not the rule.”

The post also discusses the potential humiliation of suspects’ families by being shared on social media, as well as a general risk aversion to sharing the images.

“Our goal is to keep our citizens informed about what is happening in the city we all live in as well as the work the police do on behalf of citizens,” they concluded.