The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is removing online photos

A Facebook post by the Flagler Sheriff’s Office about the removal of the photos drew mostly negative reactions from people who responded.

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced in a Facebook post Wednesday that it will no longer include photos in its online inmate search tool.

The sheriff’s office cited a federal court case in Arizona managed posting photos of people who have not been convicted of crimes violates their due process rights.

It also cited a nationwide scam in which people pose as bail agents and then use online databases, including photos, to obtain information about inmates and then contact their relatives.

The sheriff’s office said it will still include the images in its press releases. Photos will also be available upon request by email [email protected]

Flagler County Sheriff Mark Strawbridge said the fraud issue is secondary to the federal court ruling.

“We’d prefer not to, but we’re bound by the law just like everyone else,” Strawbridge said.

He said people can still take a photo.

“If people want a photo and have a specific name, they can email our records and a photo will be sent to them. It’s there, they just have to ask for it,” Strawbridge said.

The Volusia County Jail was still releasing photos as of Thursday.

“Volusia County is not currently considering any changes to our photo release policy,” wrote public information officer Clayton Jackson.

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office posted a notice that the ability to search by booking dates has been restored to its website after it was temporarily removed by the Flagler County Information Technology Department, which maintains the search tool.

A federal court ruled against theft

In removing the photo, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office cited a September 2024 federal court decision in Houston v. Maricopa County, Arizona.

In that case, a man named Brian Huston sued the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for routinely posting pictures of inmates, according to news reports. In 2022, Houston was arrested for assault, but the charges were later dropped.

A three-judge panel of the United States 9^thousand According to news reports, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that publishing the photos is tantamount to punishing people who have not yet been convicted in violation of due process.

Third-party websites also post photos released by law enforcement agencies on their sites.

Facebook commenters generally don’t like deleting photos

As of Thursday, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s post about the removal of the photos had more than 200 comments on Facebook, most of them negative.

“That’s not nice Rick…put them back and give us back our entertainment,” Shelby Spivey wrote.

“What a disappointment. My mornings are now ruined,” wrote Steph Pepy.

“How are we supposed to know if people from our senior classes are in prison now?” wrote Amanda Lane Milders with a laughing emoji.

Cyd Weeks posted that the lack of photos would make it difficult for property owners and managers to search the inmate site.

Tonya Faciglione posted that someone applying for an interview with the same name as a pedophile could be mistaken for a pedophile due to the lack of a photo.

“It seems we are protecting more criminals. They seem to have more rights than the victims,” wrote Janice Patrice Catojo.

But just because someone is arrested doesn’t mean they will be convicted, as some Facebook commenters have said.

Nicole Walls has posted about someone close to her family being wrongfully accused and arrested, causing their photos to be “all over social media”. She said their children saw it and were “affected” by it at school. She said they were found not guilty.

“…looking at what they went through, I’m really glad they got away with the thefts… No family should have to go through this because of clean allegations…,” Walls wrote.

Anthony Riley wrote: “Not a popular opinion, but good! Your public shaming of people accused (not convicted) of a crime serves no purpose other than the perverse fascination of some.”

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office is removing the photos

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office has temporarily blocked its inmate search website as it removes the images, Public Information Officer Taylor Levesque said. She said the agency was only going to provide the photos upon request.

She said the changes came about because of multiple scams and a case in an Arizona court.