If Mug Shots are on Your Shopping List, South Dakota’s Got You Covered
Twenty years ago, you had to shell out big bucks to get a copy of your latest 'Glamour Shots' photo.
But those days of overpriced photos are a thing of the past, thanks to a new law in South Dakota.
Now, just eight bucks will get you a nice close-up shot.
But there's a catch.
You'll have to be sporting an orange or striped jumpsuit.
As of July 1, a new South Dakota law classifies mug shots of the state's felons as public records, and thus makes them available to anyone who wants to fork over eight dollars. It doesn't matter if you served any jail time or not, if you're arrested for a felony, your photo is fair game.
So how common is this practice?
South Dakota is the 49th state to make the change. That leaves Louisiana as the lone holdout.
According to the The Rapid City Journal, South Dakota had the option of making the mug shots available free, like Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota do, but chose to charge for the photos due to personnel costs associated with processing the mug shots, and also to discourage third-party websites from collecting the images and re-selling them.
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