Law requires California police to use suspect’s pronouns upon release of mugshot

A California law taking effect Monday will include preferred pronouns with suspects’ mugshots while also limiting their presence on social media.

California’s AB 994 amended the current law on publishing mugshots, only allowing the mugshots of suspects with violent charges to remain on social media for two weeks. Those posted on social media should also only be posted if “the suspect is a fugitive or an imminent threat to an individual or to public safety and releasing or disseminating the suspect’s image will assist in locating or apprehending the suspect or reducing or eliminating the threat.”

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This law will apply retroactively, meaning that agencies will have to delete old mugshots from their social media. However, this law will not apply to the websites or data systems of agencies.

A judge or an exigent circumstance can still supersede the law. Should it take longer than two weeks to find the suspect, the photo is allowed to remain on social media.

Law enforcement will also use the preferred name and pronouns that the suspect gives them when publishing their mugshot. A suspect’s legal name can be included if it “will assist in locating or apprehending the individual.”

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California already had laws against publishing the mugshot of a suspect charged with nonviolent offenses. Violent crimes include murder, rape, kidnapping, arson, robbery, and burglary.

In 2022, California saw almost 195,000 instances of violent crime, according to FBI crime data. This number comes from only 49% of law enforcement agencies opting into the FBI’s newest system, National Incident Based Reporting.