Why you won’t see many mug shots in the Courant anymore

Starting today, the Hartford Courant will begin dramatically scaling back its use of mug shots on crime stories both on our website, courant.com, and in the newspaper. While up until now our general practice has been to use one if it’s available, under this new approach we will only use them in exceptional circumstances.

There are several reasons for this change.

First, the longstanding policy of the Courant has been to avoid identifying a suspect in a criminal proceeding by their race unless absolutely necessary to the telling of the story. Publishing a mug shot can undermine that policy. Second, mugshots can enforce stigmas, especially around individuals and communities of color. They often reinforce stereotypes, bolstering prejudicial assumptions.

This decision followed a recommendation by an internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee that was established in the Courant’s newsroom to review our policies and practices.

In the wake of the George Floyd killing and the protests that followed, newspapers across the nation have renewed efforts to understand how biases influence coverage and take steps to eliminate those biases. Today’s steps are part of a continuing effort at the Courant.

“Mugshots depict people at their worst moments, often invoking stereotypes about Black and Latino defendants,” the committee wrote in a note that went out to the newsroom explaining the new policy. “Due to associations between mugshots and criminality, these images project guilt onto people who have been charged but not convicted of crimes.”

Finally, because some police departments in Connecticut routinely provide mug shots while others don’t, the question of whether the mugshot of any given defendant would be published was disproportionately driven by the municipality in which the arrest took place.

This change follows similar moves at other newspapers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Sacramento Bee.

There will be some exceptions. If the defendant is a public figure, such as an elected official, if an alleged crime has achieved broad regional or national notoriety or if there is a particular and exceptional reason to believe printing a mugshot is necessary for public safety, we may use a mugshot. Those decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis by senior managers.

In a related development, the newsroom will also begin using a style guide developed by our colleagues at the Baltimore Sun.

The mission of this style guide is to ensure that our coverage is “as respectful, accurate, inclusive and fair as possible.” It demonstrates how to write precisely and authoritatively on topics related to Black, Latino and Hispanic communities, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities, as well as various socioeconomic conditions and mental health disorders.

The adoption of this guide is a recognition that the words we use reflect the way we understand and reflect our community. As part of our ongoing efforts to become a more inclusive organization, this guide will help writers understand and appreciate the views and experiences of others and reflect that understanding in the Courant.