MugTube?
April 8, 2009 8:23 PM Subscribe
Real-time mugshots from Tampa Bay.
In the tradition of The Smoking Gun's Arresting Images, The St. Petersburg Times is now publishing mugshots gathered from county sheriff's web sites in the Tampa Bay area. Sort by gender, age, height, weight or eye color.
From the newspaper's disclaimer: Those appearing here have not been convicted of the arrest charge and are presumed innocent. Do not rely on this site to determine any person's actual criminal record.
In the tradition of The Smoking Gun's Arresting Images, The St. Petersburg Times is now publishing mugshots gathered from county sheriff's web sites in the Tampa Bay area. Sort by gender, age, height, weight or eye color.
From the newspaper's disclaimer: Those appearing here have not been convicted of the arrest charge and are presumed innocent. Do not rely on this site to determine any person's actual criminal record.
Oh my gosh this is horrible. Sex offender arrested at 7 in the morning because he didn't tell the sex offender registry he'd moved. On the bright side, if I ever need weed in Tampa, I have the home addresses of a few dealers. Ahem, alleged dealers.
posted by jessamyn at 8:34 PM on April 8, 2009 [7 favorites]
posted by jessamyn at 8:34 PM on April 8, 2009 [7 favorites]
Meth is a hell of a drug.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:37 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:37 PM on April 8, 2009
Brown eyes make you a criminal!
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:39 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:39 PM on April 8, 2009
Also, I recognise a lot of these faces from MySpace friend requests.
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:43 PM on April 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:43 PM on April 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
Man, Aaron Douglas really lost it after the Galactica finale, I guess.
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:47 PM on April 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:47 PM on April 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
Looks like some of my Match.com matches. Seriously dude this is a great find.
posted by ~Sushma~ at 8:48 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by ~Sushma~ at 8:48 PM on April 8, 2009
$3500 bail for aggravated assault with a firearm
Ok, yeah, she looks about 16, but come on!
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:49 PM on April 8, 2009
Ok, yeah, she looks about 16, but come on!
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:49 PM on April 8, 2009
Someone needs to calibrate the Pinellas Co. PD's scale. Unless these guys were huffing helium.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:51 PM on April 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:51 PM on April 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
mom?!
posted by RockyChrysler at 8:51 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by RockyChrysler at 8:51 PM on April 8, 2009
Solo! Hay lapa no ya, Solo! Hoh hoh hoh hoh hoh!
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:51 PM on April 8, 2009 [6 favorites]
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:51 PM on April 8, 2009 [6 favorites]
if the interview goes well, i may be getting a job in the area. this is an excellent way to get to know some of the people that i am going to meet.
posted by the aloha at 8:52 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by the aloha at 8:52 PM on April 8, 2009
Guess this pretty much throws out any pretext of innocent until proven guilty.
And...
I find the photos of those smiling oddly charming, given the circumstances.
posted by edgeways at 8:52 PM on April 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
And...
I find the photos of those smiling oddly charming, given the circumstances.
posted by edgeways at 8:52 PM on April 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
Someone needs to calibrate the Pinellas Co. PD's scale. Unless these guys were huffing helium.
Lots of the over 300s are likewise dubious.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:53 PM on April 8, 2009
Lots of the over 300s are likewise dubious.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:53 PM on April 8, 2009
Pretty messed up to be publishing pics and personal info (including home address?? are these cops MENTAL???) of people who have been arrested but not convicted of a damn thing.
posted by LordSludge at 8:55 PM on April 8, 2009 [19 favorites]
posted by LordSludge at 8:55 PM on April 8, 2009 [19 favorites]
Sure are a lot of tiny latinos around there.
posted by dead cousin ted at 8:57 PM on April 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by dead cousin ted at 8:57 PM on April 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
I'm speechless. Not to get all outragey, but does anybody else think this is absolutely appalling? It is just bad, wrong on so many levels. Including what it inspires here. I just don't see how, ugh, just ick.
posted by iamkimiam at 9:02 PM on April 8, 2009 [28 favorites]
posted by iamkimiam at 9:02 PM on April 8, 2009 [28 favorites]
Doesn't look very female to me
Neither does this one.
Also, "Petit" Theft. She must have been pleased with that!
I wanted to find a girl that I could say "she can viol. my pro. any time she wants!" but there's not a looker in the bunch.
Finally, don't lie to Leo.
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:04 PM on April 8, 2009
Neither does this one.
Also, "Petit" Theft. She must have been pleased with that!
I wanted to find a girl that I could say "she can viol. my pro. any time she wants!" but there's not a looker in the bunch.
Finally, don't lie to Leo.
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:04 PM on April 8, 2009
"We had trouble getting a charge for Erika Marie. Check her page at the Sheriff's Office Web site for more information. "Permalink.
"Her page", like facebook and frendster in a bad way.
Now we just need to get those cop car cameras online. They could do crime pay per view to help out those sad city budgets.
"Anyone else think this is absolutely appalling?" Yes and fascinating at the same time, oh my eyes.
posted by blink_left at 9:06 PM on April 8, 2009
"Her page", like facebook and frendster in a bad way.
Now we just need to get those cop car cameras online. They could do crime pay per view to help out those sad city budgets.
"Anyone else think this is absolutely appalling?" Yes and fascinating at the same time, oh my eyes.
posted by blink_left at 9:06 PM on April 8, 2009
i love how merely being suspected of something gives you a permanent record on the internet. i can't fathom why they'd do this to people who are presumed innocent.
posted by klanawa at 9:06 PM on April 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by klanawa at 9:06 PM on April 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
I'd love to see what kind of domestic abuse this little spitfire can mete out. She looks like the girl who sells me Thin Mints.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:07 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:07 PM on April 8, 2009
It feels like I'm looking at geology or topographic maps or a rock collection. Reminds me also of "Least Wanted."
posted by wallstreet1929 at 9:10 PM on April 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by wallstreet1929 at 9:10 PM on April 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
She's pretty cute. I wonder what she's charged with (They don't say)
posted by delmoi at 9:14 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by delmoi at 9:14 PM on April 8, 2009
i love how merely being suspected of something gives you a permanent record on the internet.
Florida's sunshine laws are quite remarkable, actually. Basically, in Florida, if any government makes any record of it, you can get it. "It is the policy of this state that all state, county and municipal records shall be open for personal inspection by any person."
It's good and bad, of course. The good is that anyone gets to see everything. The bad is that anyone gets to see everything.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:15 PM on April 8, 2009
Florida's sunshine laws are quite remarkable, actually. Basically, in Florida, if any government makes any record of it, you can get it. "It is the policy of this state that all state, county and municipal records shall be open for personal inspection by any person."
It's good and bad, of course. The good is that anyone gets to see everything. The bad is that anyone gets to see everything.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:15 PM on April 8, 2009
delmoi, she held on to Pasco. Pasco don't dig that.
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:16 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:16 PM on April 8, 2009
Do sheriff's offices do this in other parts of the country? (I would ask, "parts of the world," but somehow I suspect I already know the answer to that one). Because it really does seem more than passingly reprehensible to make available the full names, home addresses, and places of employment of people who haven't been brought to trial for, much less convicted of anything (I mean, it would be pretty gross even for actual, you know, convicts, but this is triply-so).
I have to confess, though, that I used to trawl the Hillsborough County site for people I went to high school with (why, yes, I am a terrible person), but seeing the information aggregated like this makes me more than a bit queasy.
Like, I kind of keep expecting to see a "people you may know" column somewhere.
posted by wreckingball at 9:18 PM on April 8, 2009
I have to confess, though, that I used to trawl the Hillsborough County site for people I went to high school with (why, yes, I am a terrible person), but seeing the information aggregated like this makes me more than a bit queasy.
Like, I kind of keep expecting to see a "people you may know" column somewhere.
posted by wreckingball at 9:18 PM on April 8, 2009
Well, now where NOM went to recruit the actors for its new ad campaign.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 9:19 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 9:19 PM on April 8, 2009
What is this shit? I mean it isn't new, because there are lots of places that put up info like this. But really I agree with iamkimiam. Guilty until ... well just guilty. Because that's pretty much it after this gets indexed and any search of your name pulls this up. Of course for the Sue Smith's of the world, no worries, but for others even if you're found completely innocent, it's still there. It's not new though, but I guess the weird css-y presentation just kind of made it suck enough ass that the implications became clearer.
And really? Looking through there and saying she's cute and ooh I'd hit that. Seriously? Get a life, damn. I'm not a prude but fuck, a lot of these people are going through the worst day of their life, can we just skip by viewing them as things you can stick our peens in? Sheesh.
posted by cashman at 9:21 PM on April 8, 2009 [6 favorites]
And really? Looking through there and saying she's cute and ooh I'd hit that. Seriously? Get a life, damn. I'm not a prude but fuck, a lot of these people are going through the worst day of their life, can we just skip by viewing them as things you can stick our peens in? Sheesh.
posted by cashman at 9:21 PM on April 8, 2009 [6 favorites]
Nice, I spent some time in Pasco county, so I really am looking for people I know. Let's see if I can accurately infer criminality based upon the fuzzy memories of 4-6th graders 20 years ago. Justin **** and Brent ***, I'm thinking of you.
posted by empyrean at 9:23 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by empyrean at 9:23 PM on April 8, 2009
Goddamnit, I agree with cashman and not delmoi. Get this shit off the internet.
posted by kid ichorous at 9:23 PM on April 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by kid ichorous at 9:23 PM on April 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
It needs a comments section. I'm sure that would be comedy gold.
posted by YoBananaBoy at 9:24 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by YoBananaBoy at 9:24 PM on April 8, 2009
I was going to ask What the fuck is wrong with you people?, but I respected you all so much that I thought I must've missed something. So I checked the site again. Waited for more comments, thinking someone might explain.
What the fuck is wrong with you people?
posted by dolca at 9:32 PM on April 8, 2009
What the fuck is wrong with you people?
posted by dolca at 9:32 PM on April 8, 2009
Now that I'm done rubbernecking at that train wreck, eh. I understand it's a matter of public record and they're probably aiming for some kind of combination of deterrence and education, but I'm not sure this kind of thing won't do more harm than good.
posted by empyrean at 9:35 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by empyrean at 9:35 PM on April 8, 2009
As fucked up as it is in the general, it's especially sick and sad in the specific. Why don't they just call all those 50 year old dudes who are ostensibly arrested for open containers and trespassing, arrested for "being homeless".
posted by birdie birdington at 9:36 PM on April 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by birdie birdington at 9:36 PM on April 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
YoBananaBoy: "37It needs a comments section. I'm sure that would be comedy gold."
I hope that if any misfortune comes my way there will be an audience to comment on it, for the sole purpose of amusing another audience that sits higher than them all.
posted by iamkimiam at 9:40 PM on April 8, 2009 [3 favorites]
I hope that if any misfortune comes my way there will be an audience to comment on it, for the sole purpose of amusing another audience that sits higher than them all.
posted by iamkimiam at 9:40 PM on April 8, 2009 [3 favorites]
I scrolled through a few pages--it's disturbing how many women were arrested on domestic violence charges. While I know that some women are abusers, I doubt that they're all clustered in a three-county region in Florida.
posted by epj at 10:03 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by epj at 10:03 PM on April 8, 2009
I'm torn. One on hand, this is repulsive. On the other hand, there's this guy and I'm sorry to admit that I actually lol'd.
posted by jokeefe at 10:18 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by jokeefe at 10:18 PM on April 8, 2009
Full names, dates of birth, presumption of criminality ... it's an identity thief's gold mine.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 10:29 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by aeschenkarnos at 10:29 PM on April 8, 2009
This may be of interest: One justification for public booking is to prevent government from keeping secret prisoners. It means that people cannot be taken into police custody and then go "missing." This is derived from a quasi-constitutional-based protection (excepted from Miranda) that requires a person in custody to provide biographical information.
posted by inkyr2 at 10:29 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by inkyr2 at 10:29 PM on April 8, 2009
What? That's weaksauce! That's our checks and balances system to keep the government in line?
posted by iamkimiam at 10:34 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by iamkimiam at 10:34 PM on April 8, 2009
So many people getting their lives Ruined in Realtime. This is the future, and it makes me sad.
The latest one just got busted for 20 grams or less of marijuana. And now what? How is her application to that law school going to turn out now? What about any future political aspirations? It's one thing to admit to some weed smoking in a memoir, it's another to have an actual mug shot that can be flashed on the tv by your opponents.
We're creating an entire class of people who are going to socially handicapped. I just don't see how this system can maintain itself. At some point are we just going to have to reset everyone's record?
posted by formless at 10:37 PM on April 8, 2009 [15 favorites]
The latest one just got busted for 20 grams or less of marijuana. And now what? How is her application to that law school going to turn out now? What about any future political aspirations? It's one thing to admit to some weed smoking in a memoir, it's another to have an actual mug shot that can be flashed on the tv by your opponents.
We're creating an entire class of people who are going to socially handicapped. I just don't see how this system can maintain itself. At some point are we just going to have to reset everyone's record?
posted by formless at 10:37 PM on April 8, 2009 [15 favorites]
Goddamnit, I agree with cashman and not delmoi. Get this shit off the internet.
Huh? All I said was that one of the arrestees was cute. What does that have to do with whether or not this is posted?
Also, this stuff is all a matter of public record. Lots of places allow you to look up information like this, it's just usually not put in such a easy-to-browse "Web 2.0" format. As more and more information about us gets stored in databases, I would actually like to see much greater control and restriction on how freely private information is shared, but in a perverse way I think making the information easier to browse would make people more interested in actually putting controls in place. With this site, you see exactly what's out there. But who knows whats sitting in some random database that might get called up the next time you apply for a job or an apartment or even a date.
posted by delmoi at 10:46 PM on April 8, 2009
Huh? All I said was that one of the arrestees was cute. What does that have to do with whether or not this is posted?
Also, this stuff is all a matter of public record. Lots of places allow you to look up information like this, it's just usually not put in such a easy-to-browse "Web 2.0" format. As more and more information about us gets stored in databases, I would actually like to see much greater control and restriction on how freely private information is shared, but in a perverse way I think making the information easier to browse would make people more interested in actually putting controls in place. With this site, you see exactly what's out there. But who knows whats sitting in some random database that might get called up the next time you apply for a job or an apartment or even a date.
posted by delmoi at 10:46 PM on April 8, 2009
Just a note, I think that they only keep mugshots taken within the last 60 days.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:55 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:55 PM on April 8, 2009
The latest one just got busted for 20 grams or less of marijuana. And now what? How is her application to that law school going to turn out now? What about any future political aspirations?
Oh come on now. Aren't we living in a country where the president admitted to doing coke? I have a friend who will be graduating from law school in may despite being busted for weed in the past.
I don't think these sorts of offenses carry the stigma they might have 20 years ago. Also, I think there is a bill in congress that would allow for expungement of records (or at least keep them private), but I'm not sure if that's just for federal misdemeanors or what.
posted by delmoi at 10:57 PM on April 8, 2009
Oh come on now. Aren't we living in a country where the president admitted to doing coke? I have a friend who will be graduating from law school in may despite being busted for weed in the past.
I don't think these sorts of offenses carry the stigma they might have 20 years ago. Also, I think there is a bill in congress that would allow for expungement of records (or at least keep them private), but I'm not sure if that's just for federal misdemeanors or what.
posted by delmoi at 10:57 PM on April 8, 2009
(oh hmm, that bill was from 2001. I thought I had read somewhere that it was reintroduced, I don't know)
posted by delmoi at 10:58 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by delmoi at 10:58 PM on April 8, 2009
Goddamnit, I agree with cashman and not delmoi. Get this shit off the internet.
Yeah, this kind of thing really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This really has no place being on the Internet. It's like saying, "Well, you might be innocent, but while we try to figure that out for sure, we're gonna lock you up in the stocks out in the middle of Main St. and let people spit on you anyway."
posted by chillmost at 11:17 PM on April 8, 2009 [3 favorites]
Yeah, this kind of thing really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This really has no place being on the Internet. It's like saying, "Well, you might be innocent, but while we try to figure that out for sure, we're gonna lock you up in the stocks out in the middle of Main St. and let people spit on you anyway."
posted by chillmost at 11:17 PM on April 8, 2009 [3 favorites]
Yes, these things do carry stigma. You may not get into college. Or get a job. And you definitely won't qualify for any financial aid. Not to mention that any person can google your name. Forever.
Think about that. It will be infinitely harder to turn your life around after this.
You know what a hassle it is when somebody screws up your bill for Comcast or whatever. Or you keep getting mixed up with that OTHER J. Smith who seems to rack up parking tickets in Wyoming. Or you can't get a loan because you have some stupid collections thing from six years ago. Or somebody frauded you and your credit is all screwed up.
Any one of those things...such a hassle to clear your name! Multiply that by 100. Add the most unflattering picture of you ever taken. Include an address and a list of details. And make sure it's in the permanent record. It doesn't matter if you're guilty. It doesn't matter what you've done since. It doesn't matter how much time, distance, or good will you put between then and now. Everybody else who is struggling to get into school, to get a job, to get any help whatsoever will have the advantage. Now try and have a happy, fulfilling life. Just put all this business behind you. Yeah, right.
posted by iamkimiam at 11:18 PM on April 8, 2009 [5 favorites]
Think about that. It will be infinitely harder to turn your life around after this.
You know what a hassle it is when somebody screws up your bill for Comcast or whatever. Or you keep getting mixed up with that OTHER J. Smith who seems to rack up parking tickets in Wyoming. Or you can't get a loan because you have some stupid collections thing from six years ago. Or somebody frauded you and your credit is all screwed up.
Any one of those things...such a hassle to clear your name! Multiply that by 100. Add the most unflattering picture of you ever taken. Include an address and a list of details. And make sure it's in the permanent record. It doesn't matter if you're guilty. It doesn't matter what you've done since. It doesn't matter how much time, distance, or good will you put between then and now. Everybody else who is struggling to get into school, to get a job, to get any help whatsoever will have the advantage. Now try and have a happy, fulfilling life. Just put all this business behind you. Yeah, right.
posted by iamkimiam at 11:18 PM on April 8, 2009 [5 favorites]
How did this seem like a good idea to anybody?
posted by brundlefly at 11:19 PM on April 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by brundlefly at 11:19 PM on April 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
Yes, these things do carry stigma. You may not get into college. Or get a job. And you definitely won't qualify for any financial aid. Not to mention that any person can google your name. Forever.
Well, actually they no longer ask if you have a drug conviction on FAFSA forms. That was changed after the democratic takeover in 2006. You're still not supposed to get aide if you have a drug conviction, but since they don't even ask the question. Also, on lots of minor offenses you can get a differed judgement or something like that.
Anyway, I'm not quite sure what you're arguing. Against this particular website, or against the fact that these records have always been available, usually online?
All of this data has been out there for years. This website just puts a web-2.0 front end on it.
posted by delmoi at 11:54 PM on April 8, 2009
Well, actually they no longer ask if you have a drug conviction on FAFSA forms. That was changed after the democratic takeover in 2006. You're still not supposed to get aide if you have a drug conviction, but since they don't even ask the question. Also, on lots of minor offenses you can get a differed judgement or something like that.
Anyway, I'm not quite sure what you're arguing. Against this particular website, or against the fact that these records have always been available, usually online?
All of this data has been out there for years. This website just puts a web-2.0 front end on it.
posted by delmoi at 11:54 PM on April 8, 2009
Trying to guess the crimes by looking at their faces is... can something be sad & fun at the same time?
posted by gnutron at 11:59 PM on April 8, 2009
posted by gnutron at 11:59 PM on April 8, 2009
We had trouble getting a charge for X
Well, If you can't pinpoint a charge--LEAVE THEM THE FUCK ALONE!
Just sayin'
posted by sourwookie at 12:13 AM on April 9, 2009
Well, If you can't pinpoint a charge--LEAVE THEM THE FUCK ALONE!
Just sayin'
posted by sourwookie at 12:13 AM on April 9, 2009
I keep scrolling around looking for people that I went to high school with. Haven't found anyone. Yet.
Rangeboy- It is in tampa, but it's hardly ever enforced, from what I understand. It's called the six foot rule. That's an article that references it. Couldn't find the ordinance itself.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 12:32 AM on April 9, 2009
Rangeboy- It is in tampa, but it's hardly ever enforced, from what I understand. It's called the six foot rule. That's an article that references it. Couldn't find the ordinance itself.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 12:32 AM on April 9, 2009
Only in Florida can something be both a crime and the official state pastime.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:35 AM on April 9, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:35 AM on April 9, 2009 [2 favorites]
Meth is a hell of a drug.
That was exactly what I thought when the page loaded.
Gah!
posted by bwg at 2:00 AM on April 9, 2009
That was exactly what I thought when the page loaded.
Gah!
posted by bwg at 2:00 AM on April 9, 2009
Oh come on now. Aren't we living in a country where the president admitted to doing coke?
Yeah, but the president never got arrested while he was younger and had his mug shot put on the Internet.
posted by chillmost at 2:05 AM on April 9, 2009
Yeah, but the president never got arrested while he was younger and had his mug shot put on the Internet.
posted by chillmost at 2:05 AM on April 9, 2009
Ah, thank you Esteemed Doctor. That's not the kind of ordinance I'd expect to find in Florida.
posted by Rangeboy at 3:14 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by Rangeboy at 3:14 AM on April 9, 2009
I'm actually writing a letter right now about how shitty this is. I feel like maybe someone should tell them because, apparently, they aren't aware. We're here to help, after all.
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 4:53 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 4:53 AM on April 9, 2009
The Earnhardt law deemed Florida's medical examination autopsy photographs, video and audio recordings exempt from public inspection without the expressed permission from applicable next of kin.
Absolutely amazing. Florida goes ahead and changes the law so that good 'ol boy Dale Earnhardt's deceased body isn't open to public scrutiny, but the rest of the populace? The ones that this clever little website "has trouble finding a charge for"? Well fuck them, right? Fucking Florida. I grew up in the Tampa Bay area and have no reservations whatsoever about roping off the border and letting the alligators and flamingos have their swamps back.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:18 AM on April 9, 2009 [1 favorite]
Absolutely amazing. Florida goes ahead and changes the law so that good 'ol boy Dale Earnhardt's deceased body isn't open to public scrutiny, but the rest of the populace? The ones that this clever little website "has trouble finding a charge for"? Well fuck them, right? Fucking Florida. I grew up in the Tampa Bay area and have no reservations whatsoever about roping off the border and letting the alligators and flamingos have their swamps back.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:18 AM on April 9, 2009 [1 favorite]
Quite a few of these individuals absolutely pegged my bartender's innate Fuckup-O-Meter ...
posted by jim in austin at 5:43 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by jim in austin at 5:43 AM on April 9, 2009
I'm not sure I agree with these tactics, but arresting someone before they're even born is just not right.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 5:49 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by Benny Andajetz at 5:49 AM on April 9, 2009
Looks like a bad place to be a thinnish, medium height, brown eyed, young, male.
posted by Pollomacho at 6:25 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by Pollomacho at 6:25 AM on April 9, 2009
I agree that this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. On the other hand I spent a good 5 minutes browsing the site (though I'm not happy with myself for doing so). This site seems like the internet equivalent of rubbernecking at a traffic accident.
Delmoi brings up a valid point. Mugshuts and personal information have always been a matter of public record, theoretically to defend the incarcerated. (This is why thesmokingun always gets its hands on mugshots). It's just that this is a rare occasion when it's turned into an easy-to-browse web format. Many people have raised many valid points about why this is a bad idea.
posted by HabeasCorpus at 6:57 AM on April 9, 2009
Delmoi brings up a valid point. Mugshuts and personal information have always been a matter of public record, theoretically to defend the incarcerated. (This is why thesmokingun always gets its hands on mugshots). It's just that this is a rare occasion when it's turned into an easy-to-browse web format. Many people have raised many valid points about why this is a bad idea.
posted by HabeasCorpus at 6:57 AM on April 9, 2009
I hate this--just because the sheriff's department can publish a database doesn't mean it should. A few months ago, the Nassau County cops (Long Island) were putting up a list of people arrested for DUI and the local rag was publishing them. A couple of lawyers objected vehemently and then, boom, the lawsuits followed because at least one of them was actually a diabetic who had gone into shock. This is crap. I hope someone sues the hell out of them, though I don't know on just what grounds. There's a big difference between this information being available at the local station house and it being published on the World Wide Web.
posted by etaoin at 7:06 AM on April 9, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by etaoin at 7:06 AM on April 9, 2009 [1 favorite]
I seem to remember that some researcher in the 1900s or 1800s had some rather rude physiognomical type ideas and started averaging the mugshots of the day, and to their surprise the average face looked better. The annoying thing about the Tampa Bay thingy is that I think it encourages people to say "oh, so that's what a /criminal looks like/", and encourages a disgusting us v them kind of reaction.
posted by oonh at 7:09 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by oonh at 7:09 AM on April 9, 2009
I'm with iamkimiam - this is just wrong and horrible. If you think this stuff won't haunt you for the rest of your life, think again. Where I work, we routinely do background checks and googling (for the record, I don't like this one iota) and because we also routinely have 80 applicants for every job opening, we just toss anyone with anything resembling a record. Now, it used to be that after a certain time those records were sealed. They're not, anymore - and in North Carolina, by the way, 16 is an adult, tried as an adult, tossed into adult jail and nothing ever wiped off the record - and thus we can, and did, find an applicant's reckless driving conviction from when they were 17 and then, poof, despite an apparently exemplary life in the eight years since then, they are out of the applicant pool forever.
I have a friend who lost all his grad school financial aid due to a marijuana bust. That was the end of that dream - no more student loans for druggies, you know. I have another friend who is a public defender. He had a client who had just won a full scholarship to the Sorbonne but was picked up as a DUI that night and poof, that was the end of that. They thought they'd make an example out of him and it will be a year before he emerges from parole. The sentences are harsh and getting harsher and they are not always right.
Metafilter has a tendency sometimes to believe that anyone who gets arrested for anything deserves it. That is no longer true, if it ever was. People get picked up for all kinds of ridiculous shit; the courts are clogged and jammed and insane and we know all the dismal statistics about our prison percentages. Now, with the internet, we can make sure that anyone who was ever picked up for anything is a second class citizen for life, whether or not there is any reason or proof for that. This society becomes increasingly stratified on every level and here is yet another way to create an underclass who cannot escape.
Yeah, her T-shirt makes her eponysterical. She contributed to delinquency of a minor. She's 24. That could well mean that she bought beer or cigarettes or rolling papers for a 20 year old friend. Is it possible those charges will be dropped or she'll do a little community service and it will go away? It's possible. It could happen. Or it could not happen, depending on a whole lot of insane stuff like the mood the judge is in at the time, the number of other people in the courtroom and so on. I hope it goes away, because otherwise her job prospects just got really dim. And if there's a cache or a mirror or a wayback record of that page that anyone with rudimentary skills can find, then they'll stay really dim forever.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:17 AM on April 9, 2009 [7 favorites]
I have a friend who lost all his grad school financial aid due to a marijuana bust. That was the end of that dream - no more student loans for druggies, you know. I have another friend who is a public defender. He had a client who had just won a full scholarship to the Sorbonne but was picked up as a DUI that night and poof, that was the end of that. They thought they'd make an example out of him and it will be a year before he emerges from parole. The sentences are harsh and getting harsher and they are not always right.
Metafilter has a tendency sometimes to believe that anyone who gets arrested for anything deserves it. That is no longer true, if it ever was. People get picked up for all kinds of ridiculous shit; the courts are clogged and jammed and insane and we know all the dismal statistics about our prison percentages. Now, with the internet, we can make sure that anyone who was ever picked up for anything is a second class citizen for life, whether or not there is any reason or proof for that. This society becomes increasingly stratified on every level and here is yet another way to create an underclass who cannot escape.
Yeah, her T-shirt makes her eponysterical. She contributed to delinquency of a minor. She's 24. That could well mean that she bought beer or cigarettes or rolling papers for a 20 year old friend. Is it possible those charges will be dropped or she'll do a little community service and it will go away? It's possible. It could happen. Or it could not happen, depending on a whole lot of insane stuff like the mood the judge is in at the time, the number of other people in the courtroom and so on. I hope it goes away, because otherwise her job prospects just got really dim. And if there's a cache or a mirror or a wayback record of that page that anyone with rudimentary skills can find, then they'll stay really dim forever.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:17 AM on April 9, 2009 [7 favorites]
When internet curiosity/rubbernecking collide head-on with the basic right to privacy, next on TampaBay.com. Brought to you by Florida's Sunshine Law: "There's Nothing About You We Can't Expose!"
posted by subbes at 7:23 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by subbes at 7:23 AM on April 9, 2009
That's odd, it's mostly white people.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:29 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:29 AM on April 9, 2009
Disorderly Intoxication is an awesome charge. Publishing this kind of data is terrible.
posted by snofoam at 7:30 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by snofoam at 7:30 AM on April 9, 2009
He had a client who had just won a full scholarship to the Sorbonne but was picked up as a DUI that night and poof, that was the end of that
If after 20+ years of public service announcements and teachers and parents and community leaders and victims and families of vicitms pleading "Don't Drink and Drive", "Don't Drive under the Influence" and similar words of caution, someone is still f'n stupid and/or selfish and/or ignorant and/or delusional enough to get behind the wheel while intoxicated, they don't deserve a full scholarship to the Sorbonne or to any institution of higher education. They deserve nothing.
While I think this site is unfair to those who have not been proven guilty and to those who are in for petty crimes or for being homeless, I have not one iota of sympathy for someone who is too drunk or stoned to drive.
Call a cab. Call a friend. Call a parent. Call a sibling. Call your kid. Walk. Sleep in the gutter. Call the cops. Call 9-1-1. Don't get behind the goddam wheel when you're too drunk, stoned or even too tired to drive.
posted by bitteroldman at 8:08 AM on April 9, 2009 [2 favorites]
If after 20+ years of public service announcements and teachers and parents and community leaders and victims and families of vicitms pleading "Don't Drink and Drive", "Don't Drive under the Influence" and similar words of caution, someone is still f'n stupid and/or selfish and/or ignorant and/or delusional enough to get behind the wheel while intoxicated, they don't deserve a full scholarship to the Sorbonne or to any institution of higher education. They deserve nothing.
While I think this site is unfair to those who have not been proven guilty and to those who are in for petty crimes or for being homeless, I have not one iota of sympathy for someone who is too drunk or stoned to drive.
Call a cab. Call a friend. Call a parent. Call a sibling. Call your kid. Walk. Sleep in the gutter. Call the cops. Call 9-1-1. Don't get behind the goddam wheel when you're too drunk, stoned or even too tired to drive.
posted by bitteroldman at 8:08 AM on April 9, 2009 [2 favorites]
To be fair, I think that the "We had trouble finding a charge for" message is from the web app itself, trying to retrieve information from either the police database or some other data source. I don't think it means that the officers had trouble finding a charge.
posted by formless at 8:20 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by formless at 8:20 AM on April 9, 2009
Disclaimer: I think this is wrong on all counts. But these mugshots aren't going to haunt people for life since they only display the mugshots within the last 60 days. After two months, they're gone.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 8:21 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by MaryDellamorte at 8:21 AM on April 9, 2009
On the one hand, this is shadenfruede of the lowest sort and stinks of middle class snobbery.
On the other hand, the image of this guy punching some smelly teenager for refusing to wear clean socks when trying on Nikes fills me jocularity.
I guess I am a bad person--thanks, internet, for reminding me.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:47 AM on April 9, 2009
On the other hand, the image of this guy punching some smelly teenager for refusing to wear clean socks when trying on Nikes fills me jocularity.
I guess I am a bad person--thanks, internet, for reminding me.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:47 AM on April 9, 2009
Anybody else thinking about making their own version of Guess Who?
posted by pencroft at 8:53 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by pencroft at 8:53 AM on April 9, 2009
Also, with her eye color, she really had no other options.
posted by pencroft at 8:56 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by pencroft at 8:56 AM on April 9, 2009
How did this seem like a good idea to anybody?
posted by brundlefly
I'm guessing it's some technically-oriented guys at the paper trying to make themselves and their department relevant and web-savvy and shit by any means necessary. But yeah, to me it feels like the 21st-century equivalent of putting people in the stocks in the town square so that we can leer at them. I don't see who this benefits.
posted by COBRA! at 9:27 AM on April 9, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by brundlefly
I'm guessing it's some technically-oriented guys at the paper trying to make themselves and their department relevant and web-savvy and shit by any means necessary. But yeah, to me it feels like the 21st-century equivalent of putting people in the stocks in the town square so that we can leer at them. I don't see who this benefits.
posted by COBRA! at 9:27 AM on April 9, 2009 [1 favorite]
I'd like this a lot better if you could see pictures of their tattoos.
It would still be kinda awful, for all the reasons all the other people have mentioned, but, hey, tattoos.
posted by box at 9:29 AM on April 9, 2009
It would still be kinda awful, for all the reasons all the other people have mentioned, but, hey, tattoos.
posted by box at 9:29 AM on April 9, 2009
Hey, my local police department just put up a similar database, though without pictures. Fantastic! *headdesk*
posted by epj at 9:49 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by epj at 9:49 AM on April 9, 2009
Metafilter has a tendency sometimes to believe that anyone who gets arrested for anything deserves it. That is no longer true, if it ever was. People get picked up for all kinds of ridiculous shit; the courts are clogged and jammed and insane and we know all the dismal statistics about our prison percentages. Now, with the internet, we can make sure that anyone who was ever picked up for anything is a second class citizen for life, whether or not there is any reason or proof for that.
I agree with this statement...I am now very aware that the police can and will arrest some of us at any given point for absolutely no reason......
However...
I have to say...there's not that many hot chicks in the lineup huh?
posted by The1andonly at 10:00 AM on April 9, 2009
I agree with this statement...I am now very aware that the police can and will arrest some of us at any given point for absolutely no reason......
However...
I have to say...there's not that many hot chicks in the lineup huh?
posted by The1andonly at 10:00 AM on April 9, 2009
Maybe we need a crowd sourced website that features the pictures, addresses and phone numbers of the folks who were involved in creating mugshots.tampabay.com and any similar efforts. You know, as a public service.
posted by ryoshu at 10:30 AM on April 9, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by ryoshu at 10:30 AM on April 9, 2009 [1 favorite]
Also from Tampa is the Arrest Inquiry form. Anyone that's been arrested since 1995 is in there.
posted by Laen at 11:02 AM on April 9, 2009
posted by Laen at 11:02 AM on April 9, 2009
Many of these arrests are complete bullsh*t: Expired licenses, Open containers, disorderly conduct, underage drinking at a party? WTF? And some of these folks haven't even or can't even be charged, and yet are processed anyway and paraded for the world to see anyway.
Then again, you've got the Meth people, with their sad and lost, misguided and scary faces.
And then you think, wow, each one of them had a mom and dad, and at some point in their lives they were just little kids and, like what the fuck happened? What's their story?
Anyhow fuck TampaBay.com and the people behind this cruel and parasitic sh*t. It's so not right to make money off these people.
posted by Skygazer at 11:51 AM on April 9, 2009
Then again, you've got the Meth people, with their sad and lost, misguided and scary faces.
And then you think, wow, each one of them had a mom and dad, and at some point in their lives they were just little kids and, like what the fuck happened? What's their story?
Anyhow fuck TampaBay.com and the people behind this cruel and parasitic sh*t. It's so not right to make money off these people.
posted by Skygazer at 11:51 AM on April 9, 2009
It is fucking disgusting but, yeah, I spent a while looking. I occasionally watch shows like Cops which my wife calls 'Republican TV' but this is so much worse. Ugh.
posted by ob at 12:22 PM on April 9, 2009
posted by ob at 12:22 PM on April 9, 2009
OMG... this is bad, but sooo much fun to look through! Really I am ashamed, but can't stop clicking!
posted by iohyem at 2:08 PM on April 9, 2009
posted by iohyem at 2:08 PM on April 9, 2009
That's odd, it's mostly white people.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:29 AM on April 9 [+] [!]
O_O
posted by Baby_Balrog at 2:30 PM on April 9, 2009
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:29 AM on April 9 [+] [!]
O_O
posted by Baby_Balrog at 2:30 PM on April 9, 2009
Yeah, it drops off in 60 days, but it's archived forever.
posted by unrepentanthippie at 4:36 AM on April 10, 2009
posted by unrepentanthippie at 4:36 AM on April 10, 2009
Maybe we need a crowd sourced website that features the pictures, addresses and phone numbers of the folks who were involved in creating mugshots.tampabay.com and any similar efforts. You know, as a public service.
posted by ryoshu at 12:30 PM on April 9 [1 favorite +] [!]
Exactly this. Surely the identities of law enforcement and associated support personnel, and their home addresses should be public info. And if it's public info, there's no reason not to publish it in a spiffy Web 2.0 realtime format. Right?
posted by werkzeuger at 7:28 AM on April 10, 2009
posted by ryoshu at 12:30 PM on April 9 [1 favorite +] [!]
Exactly this. Surely the identities of law enforcement and associated support personnel, and their home addresses should be public info. And if it's public info, there's no reason not to publish it in a spiffy Web 2.0 realtime format. Right?
posted by werkzeuger at 7:28 AM on April 10, 2009
Browsing this site, I'm struck by how many of these arrests are drug related -- and what a sad commentary that is on the lives of these people and our society. What does it say about us as a culture that for so many people the best thing we have to offer them is meth or oxycodone?
On a more pragmatic note, I'm never letting my daughter get a tattoo. That alone should greatly improve her chances of staying out of jail.
posted by srt19170 at 7:47 AM on April 10, 2009
On a more pragmatic note, I'm never letting my daughter get a tattoo. That alone should greatly improve her chances of staying out of jail.
posted by srt19170 at 7:47 AM on April 10, 2009
Happens I live in Pinellas County. This same info has been on the web directly from the Pinellas Co Sheriff's Dept for several years now at least. It's not a new thing.
posted by keptwench at 9:02 AM on April 10, 2009
posted by keptwench at 9:02 AM on April 10, 2009
On a more pragmatic note, I'm never letting my daughter get a tattoo. That alone should greatly improve her chances of staying out of jail.
Yeah, all those tattoos committing crimes, what a sad, sad world. I really hope your statement was a joke.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:00 AM on April 10, 2009
Yeah, all those tattoos committing crimes, what a sad, sad world. I really hope your statement was a joke.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:00 AM on April 10, 2009
I'm with iamkimiam - this is just wrong and horrible. If you think this stuff won't haunt you for the rest of your life, think again. Where I work, we routinely do background checks and googling (for the record, I don't like this one iota) and because we also routinely have 80 applicants for every job opening, we just toss anyone with anything resembling a record.
Well, I think that the laws should be changed on what can be used to prevent someone from getting a job as far as doing background checks. But the fact that you're doing those background checks already means that putting the pictures in a fancy scroller doesn't make it any worse for those people.
posted by delmoi at 10:01 PM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Well, I think that the laws should be changed on what can be used to prevent someone from getting a job as far as doing background checks. But the fact that you're doing those background checks already means that putting the pictures in a fancy scroller doesn't make it any worse for those people.
posted by delmoi at 10:01 PM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
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posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:30 PM on April 8, 2009