John Shaming: Richmond cops post mug shots online the day after booking for solicitation of

[Liberal_in_LA]

It's a cyber scarlet letter with a punch, as 11 men found out in Richmond after they encountered undercover officers who posed as prostitutes Thursday afternoon while wearing hidden microphones along busy 23rd Street.

The officers snapped the men's mug shots while booking them in the field, then posted the photos Friday to the police force's Facebook page.

"We intend to use social media to highlight those individuals who engage in this exploitive, risky and unlawful conduct," the post explained.

While john-shaming isn't a new strategy, it has gained momentum in the Bay Area as police seek to fight prostitution and human trafficking. Oakland started a website in June titled "Enough" to shame both johns and pimps after they have been arrested and charged.

But the move has caught the attention of defense attorneys and some legal experts, who worry that defendants - who may ultimately be deemed innocent - could see their reputations disparaged along the way.

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Bay-Area-police-use-online-shame-to-deter-johns-5736677.php

[msongs]

1. guilty until proven innocent - more bad cops nt

[NYC_SKP]

3. Yup, nothing to be proud of here. And if you know Richmond like I know Richmond.

It's not a good place to be.

[jberryhill]

4. trial before punishment is such a quaint idea

[Hemmingway]

11. Mugshots are public record.

[Orrex]

13. As is the police blotter

This information was already available; this new policy simply makes it more readily accessible.

[indie9197]

2. It is way easier to bust the Johns than it is to find criminals

guilty of burglary, rape, homicide, etc.

[4b5f940728b232b034e4]

6. And safer too...

but these Johns do more harm than a simple burglar.

[MurrayDelph]

12. When they seize money from a burglar

they have to give it back to the victim.

[TlalocW]

5. I don't know enough to say if it's ever happened before

But given how overzealous cops have shown to be from everything on traffic tickets to... well, Ferguson, I wonder if the ladies working Vice have quotas as well, and if they're tempted to bust someone who may have just been asking the time.

Far-fetched I know, but there are some innocents out there yet. An old high school friend of mine gave a lady of the evening a ride home late one night after he had pulled a double shift at the office. It was snowing, and he honestly thought she needed a ride. When he politely turned her down to come inside her place, he told me she looked really confused. He also said five miles down the road he figured it out.

TlalocW

[mythology]

10. I had a similar issue once

I stopped on a cold rainy night to offer a woman a ride since it was miserable to be outside. When I asked if she needed a ride somewhere, she suggested back to my place, or to a friend's place. It wasn't until she pointed to the seedy hotel that I hadn't noticed and said she could get a room that I finally put it together and made like brave Sir Robin from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

It just never occurred to me, partially because I was inexperienced with women, partially because I am personally very against prostitution and partially because I was working a low paying job and didn't have two nickels to rub together much less pay for a hooker.

[AuntPatsy]

7. Such has been going on for some time, in this town for the past several years they have been

putting out a newspaper they sell for $1.00 that shows mug shots of any and all individuals that have been arrested and adds the charges for the viewing publics pleasure without waiting for the verdicts of such charges are rendered....sickening that they can get away with it

[Live and Learn]

8. Disgusting. It shouldn't even be allowed for those found guilty.

Sentences weren't meant to be lifelong punishments. In this age of easy and instant access to public records, the availability and length of time they are allowed to be published should be reconsidered.

[Orrex]

14. If they can't do the time...

[RandiFan1290]

9. Our local papers do this for all arrests

They post all of the mug shots a few hours after booking.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/s/blotter/

http://bso.sun-sentinel.com/