TPD Policy on Publishing Pictures of Juveniles Under Review

A debate recently took place on Facebook over pictures of several African-American juveniles that were published by the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) after they were arrested for felony burglary.

Many posters were surprised that TPD would post the picture of someone under the age of 18.

However, City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox, who was engaged with the debate, contacted TPD and reported the following in a Facebook post :

I just spoke to Chief Revell for an answer. He said that when a felony is committed it is legal to publish pictures of the those who committed the felony. It is one of the many policies that will be reviewed going forward.

Other commenters on the post were concerned that TPD only chooses to post African-American juveniles.

One poster stated, “I think the bigger concern is how they determine which pictures to publish.”

City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox responded:

As he (Chief Revell) stated the review of the current policy (why, how, who,etc.) will take place and the public will provide feedback. You can provide feedback now…but also encourage our young people to avoid this altogether.

So it appears there will soon be a public discussion about TPD policies related to publishing pictures of juveniles that are arrested for felonies.

Steve Stewart

Steve Stewart is the founder and editor of Tallahassee Reports which began in 2009 as an online blog. Steve received a Bachelors Degree from Clemson University in 1984 and a Masters degree in Political Science from FSU in 1990. He has been involved with state and local politics since arriving in Tallahassee in 1989.

View all posts by Steve Stewart →

2 Comments

  1. News Maven
    News Maven

    Did she really write "...the those..."?
    According to her talgov page:
    "Dianne is a strong advocate for education..."

    So much for the AKA sista's FAMU degree.

  2. TONY
    TONY

    "Other commenters on the post were concerned that TPD only chooses to post African-American juveniles." …………………… WHY do you think that IS? Could it be that it is mostly AA Juveniles committing Felonies? I see both AA and White kids Photos in the Paper sooooo……. YES, Yes I do believe that.

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