Lego Asks Police to Stop Using Lego Heads in Mugshots
Toy company Lego has asked a Southern California police department to stop adding Lego heads to cover the faces of suspects in images it shares on social media.
The Murrieta Police Department has been using Lego heads and emojis to cover people's faces in posts on social sites since at least early 2023. The practice is part of a policy intended to comply with a California law that took effect January 1, limiting departments in sharing mugshots on social media.
But the altered photos went viral recently after the department posted a statement about its policy, prompting several news articles and, later, the request from Lego.
Across the US, law enforcement agencies have often posted galleries of photos for "Mugshot Mondays" and "Wanted Wednesdays" to social media in efforts to improve community engagement.
But experts increasingly point to the harmful effects of putting such images online. For people waiting for trial, mugshots can carry a presumption of guilt. And for anyone seeking to move past a criminal conviction, the images can make it hard to get a job and haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Under California's new law, police departments and sheriff's offices are now required to remove any booking photo they shared on social media — including of people arrested for violent offenses — within 14 days except under specific circumstances, like if the person remains a fugitive and a threat to public safety.
Murrieta police had an internal discussion about posting photos of arrestees in general and announced a new department policy on Instagram in January 2023. The community had requested more "Weekly Roundup" posts, so the department said it started using the Lego heads and emojis to comply with the law while still engaging with Murrieta residents.
However, Lego reached out to ask the department not to use its products in social media content. The department agreed and said it was looking at other ways to continue publishing content in a way "that is engaging and interesting to our followers."
