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by late_groomer 4033 days ago
Going through the code I found it interesting that there's a conditional in there that compares the inmate occupation to nearly half a dozen county positions (SHERIFF, JUDGE, PROSECUTOR, FIREMAN, etc.,), if the occupation matches any of those, then the script refuses to show the mugshot of the inmate. I wonder about the legality of that. You or I get arrested (not convicted, just arrested), our mugshots are posted for everyone to see. Doesn't seem fair.
6 comments

Remind me to list my occupation as "Wet T-shirt contest judge" when being booked next time.
Florida has rather progressive open public records requirements.[0] However, there are/were [1] exceptions for personal information such as home address for public safety officials under a rather reasonable belief by the legislature that such officials are somewhat likely to be targeted for acts carried out in the course of their work.

[0]: http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/Main/DC0B20B7DC22B741852...

[1]: Having had a provisional Building Plans Examiner license at one time, my home address was shielded under the exception. Since the exception predates September 11, 2001 it is unlikely to have been removed in the wake of the changes that event engendered.

I'm curious about that too actually- I suppose from their view it's a safety thing for the officers- which, IMO, is reasonable. Police probably aren't the most popular people in prison, and posting a picture of their face doesn't help.
Should your job make you immune from some of the prescribed legal degradations that go along with being in jail? I mean, I'm sure the corrections officers make sure that some of the inmates know exactly what new inmates are in there for. Why isn't turnabout fair play here? I can see "corrections officer" mugshot not shown for the "safety thing", but why "fireman"?
This a booking photo not a cell assignment. Should be public if the others are.

I actually think the pics should not be public until after conviction for all.

Pretty interesting (and sadly not surprising).
Have you notified the local newspaper?

Seems a great story.

No, I haven't yet, maybe I'll submit it anonymously (who wants the attention this might bring).

I had been told by a friend that one of the guys I went to school with had been arrested and I should go take a look at his mugshot. Sure enough, I found his mugshot, even though his occupation is listed as "Fire Fighter" on the booking sheet. The coder accounted for FIREFIGHTER & FIREMAN, but didn't consider blank spaces...

Nice work finding this.