There are some entertaining celebrity booking photos available on the internet. These celebrity booking photos are posted on the internet because in some States, booking photos are considered a public record. There are several unsavory internet businesses that capitalize on this law threatening to publish a person’s booking photo online unless the person pays them a fee. If the person gives in to the extortion demands, there will inevitably be another web site that threatens to do the same thing. In other words, once posted, it is essentially impossible to remove the person’s booking photo from the internet.
Fortunately, Washington State does not consider booking photos to be public records. Specifically, RCW 70.48.100 states that “the records of a person confined in jail shall be held in confidence.” The statute lays out several exceptions, such as a court order directing the release of the record. Since the booking photo is taken within the jail and is used for correctional purposes, it is considered confidential under this law. So unlike citizens in other states, those arrested for a crime in Washington state do not have to worry about their booking photo appearing on the internet. Keep in mind that while a booking photo is not available to the public, the record of arrest, conviction, and the police reports are available to the public and can be posted on the internet.
If you do find a Washington State booking photo on the internet, please contact me. I am not convinced that every jail in Washington honors RCW 70.48.100 and some may be unlawfully releasing booking photos to the public.