Hopatcong Cops' Use of Mug Shots as Deterrent Banned by Prosecutor's Office

If you don’t want your photo on the Internet, don’t break the law.

That was the thinking behind the Hopatcong Police Department’s reason for posting mug shots of those arrested on social media and releasing them to news outlets.

But the days of putting a face to the alleged crime in Hopatcong are now over, after the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office mandated all of the county’s police departments no longer release the photos, according to Hopatcong’s Lt. Thomas Kmetz.

“We posted photos of those arrested for years. It was a great deterrent,” Kmetz said Thursday after learning of the new rule Wednesday. “It is amazing how many people who we arrest say ‘Please do not put me on Facebook.’ There has to be many more who say, ‘I am not breaking the law in Hopatcong, I do not want my parents seeing me in the news.’”

Kmetz, a major advocate of posting the photos to the police department’s Facebook page and the more than 6,370 followers it has, continued by saying, “Every police department in Sussex County has a boss. That boss is the Sussex County Prosecutor.”

This doesn’t mean photos will never be released again, but there will be very high hurdles. The Prosecutor’s Office has banned all suspect and arrest photos for crimes of a third or fourth-degree, disorderly person offense, petty disorderly offense, motor vehicle violation, or ordinance violation. Crimes of the first or second degree may be released, but would need the approval of the First Assistant Prosecutor.

Do you agree with the new rule? Do you believe mug shots should be released by police departments? Tell us in the comments.

Pictured: Two sketch photos posted by the Hopatcong Police Department on its Facebook page Thursday afternoon.