A mug shot, mugshot, police photograph, or booking photograph, is a photographic portrait taken after one is arrested. The purpose of the mug shot is to allow law enforcement to have a photographic record of the arrested individual to allow for identification by victims and investigators. Most mug shots are two-part, with one side-view photo, and one front-view. They may be compiled into a mug book in order to determine the identity of a criminal. In high-profile cases mug shots may also be published by the media.
Read more about Mug Shot: History, Etymology, Prejudicial Nature, Copyright Status, Access To Mug Shot Photographs
Famous quotes containing the word shot:
“He shakes the dust from off his feet
And shambles down the dirty street
The last man in the town, they said,
Who’d shot a hundred Yankees dead.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)