DeSoto Sheriff Jayson Richardson would like to inform the public of recent changes that are taking place regarding our “Inmate Roster” website, which displays a list of all currently housed inmates in the DeSoto Detention Center. Louisiana House Bill 729, more commonly referred to as the “Mug Shot Bill,” has passed through the Louisiana Legislature and is expected to be signed by Governor Edwards on Wednesday, June 15th.
Upon the Governor’s signature, all law enforcement agencies in the state will be expected to comply with this new bill immediately. HB 729 will require all law enforcement agencies to immediately cease publishing booking photos for most offenses to the public and media. Exceptions were written into the bill for certain violent offenses, but this bill will ultimately change which mugshots will be published in the future.
In days past, it has been common practice for law enforcement agencies in the state to immediately publish all mugshots to the public, along with the suspects name and charges. The goal in doing so has always been to keep residents informed, and to be as transparent as the law allows us to be. We intend to keep that commitment to the public. With such short notice for compliance, it will take time to review the bill and amendments and re-build our website to display information in accordance with state law.
Until then, we have disabled the inmate roster from public view until a solution can be found. We are aware that our inmate roster website is widely used across the parish to keep up with what is going on in your area. It is the most commonly used feature of our website and our App, by residents and deputies alike. With that said, we ask for your patience as we seek to resolve the way in which this information is displayed and determine what information can be legally displayed. We hope to be back up and running on the site very soon!
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