How Do I Remove Myself From Indiana Inmate Search Mugshots?

March 16, 2021

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Is that embarrassing photo coming up any time someone enters “Indiana inmate search mugshots” into Google? Don’t worry, we can help!

One of the biggest questions people ask us is why a person’s name and picture are showing up in an Indiana inmate mugshots search. This is because many people have records up on search engine results, even when they were never sentenced for a crime. But why? And how did this happen?

Understanding the how is an important step. It’s also the first step you should take when removing your name, photo, and criminal record from the internet.

First, let’s look at the how

Let’s say you are a 33-year-old job seeker. Despite putting out dozens or even hundreds of applications, you just aren’t getting the callbacks and offers you think you deserve.

If this ever happens to you, then the most important two things to do is:

Have someone look over your resume
Perform an Indiana inmate search for mugshots and your name.

After Googling your name, check out search engine results and Google image results. If you find your name and your image on a link connected to a mugshot site, you have found your problem.

Your mugshot may be on any mugshot or newspaper site if you’ve ever been arrested. Maybe your arrest happened five, ten, or fifteen years ago. Maybe it was a simple misdemeanor, but the charges were dismissed.

Or maybe you had a serious assault charge on your record. And once the process started, the courts downgraded it to disorderly conduct. Or maybe despite expunging or sealing your case, it’s still popping up online.

Whatever your situation, you probably know but having that type of record online and available for anyone in Indiana to find via an Indiana inmate search mugshots is going to cause you problems.

Why Is Your Mugshot Showing Up in Google?

Your name, photo, and record of charges are likely available on mugshot websites. This is because those sites take advantage of a loophole in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Either the webmasters applied to local and state agencies or had someone apply on their behalf to obtain your arrest information.

Then, they take that information and put it online. It’s there until you or an attorney contact them.

Agencies have your information because, whenever you are arrested, you go through the booking process. When booked, you are fingerprinted and your photo is taken. This is done to identify you in the criminal justice system. And once complete, your charges are recorded.

Even after your release, all the information obtained during the process is recorded and is made available to mugshot sites. This is done when they submit a Freedom of Information Act request for criminal records.

Once they receive that information, they create web pages with your name, mugshot, and arrest record. These records then show up whenever anyone uses Google for an Indiana inmate search mugshots request.

How Do I Remove Myself From Indiana Inmate Search Mugshots Results?

Now that you know how your information got onto an Indiana mugshots website, it’s important to know the why. Mugshot websites complete Freedom of Information Act requests and create web pages for each person they receive. This is because they want to make money off your information.

They make money off of you in two key ways:

Ad revenue

This works like most other websites. When someone visits a page with your information, they are exposed to advertisements. The brand behind those advertisements pays the mugshot site owners for space on those pages.

Profile removal fees

In reality, this is a type of extortion or ransom payment. Here, the person with their information online on an Indiana inmate search mugshots result pays the webmaster a “removal fee” to take down their information. These fees are entirely at the discretion of the mugshot webmaster. Fees may amount to a couple of hundred dollars or add up to thousands of dollars. Either way, this may prove too costly for many people. And it may be particularly hard for those who need to remove their arrest record to find employment or housing.

Is it Legal for Indiana Mugshot Websites to Charge Removal Fees?

You might be wondering why or how it’s legal for mugshot sites to charge removal fee. After all, they’re essentially blackmail fees.

Well, these mugshot sites exploit a loophole in the Freedom of Information Act to take advantage of people with no recourse.

To illustrate, look at one of the least powerful populations in the United States: those with arrest records. This population is highly disenfranchised. Nineteen states prohibit felons from voting while incarcerated and for a period after incarceration.

What’s more: lawmakers are slow to react to the gross misuse of criminal records by mugshot websites.

That said, states have made some progress, including the state of Indiana. According to Indiana Code. § 5-14-3-3, all agencies and political subdivisions may prohibit the release of any public information in electronic form when that information is requested strictly for commercial use. The one exception is the “publication of news.”

Hire a Team to Remove Your Information From Indiana Inmate Search Mugshots

The first thing to do to remove your name, mugshot and arrest record from the web is to contact the webmaster. Check the website for a contact page or a Frequently Asked Question page. Locate a link that offers you more information about removing your mugshot from the site.

There are plenty of times where a webmaster will voluntarily remove a person’s information from the page.

For example, a webmaster will typically remove or suppress a person’s mugshot web page when:

The state disallows websites from charging removal or ransom fees
The charges were dismissed outright
The case was sealed or expunged

If the webmaster refuses to remove your information, it is in your best interest to hire someone who can help.

Remember, mentions of your name, picture, and arrest record online can hurt job, housing and social prospects. Wherever possible, you should take steps to remove all negative information, including arrest records from the internet.

So when the webmaster won’t work with you, then get assistance from a team like EraseMugshots.com. When you call our number at 866-601-6803 , you get a link to someone with the agency and background to help remove all unwanted information from search results. This includes Indiana inmate search mugshots.

How Can EraseMugshots Remove My Information From Indiana Inmate Search Mugshots?

While a removal service like EraseMugshots charges a fee (in order to pay our employees), we do offer an array of services. Services include removing negative information about not only from one site, but any and all sites it appears. This includes personal information that pops up when someone completes an Indiana inmate search mugshots.

EraseMugshots gets results you can’t because our team has unmatched removal resources, experience and expertise. Finding each site including your information takes time, and submitting the right paperwork and making effective removal requests takes even more time.

Is there any other way?

In some cases, you might also have to take legal action. This may include threatening legal and criminal ramifications when websites refuse to play by the rules and laws applicable in one’s area.

In some cases and states where it isn’t possible to force a mugshot website to take down the mugshot and information of a person, alternative methods may be needed. These alternative methods are done with the goal not of removing your information completely from Indiana inmate search mugshots results but rather suppressing those results so thoroughly that when someone does a search for your name, they won’t find that type of negative information.

We make this happen by creating positive and neutral content affiliated with your name and image as well as working with Google and other search engines to suppress the listing of negative information.

You want someone with experience in advanced suppression and legal tactics. A team that has the tools and the clout to force unsavory webmasters to take down your personal information and where they don’t or refuse to, to get results in alternative ways.