Police Pictures: The Photograph as Evidence
A landmark 1997 exhibition catalog accompanying the first major museum exhibition to examine historical and contemporary photographs taken as evidence in law enforcement contexts.
The work surveys more than 120 images from public and private sources—ranging from Civil War era Lincoln conspiracy photographs to mid-20th century crime scenes and contemporary forensic documentation—that question the conjunction of photography and enforcement while challenging the assumption that images represent unvarnished truth.
The three-part catalog features essays by the three editors: Sandra S. Phillips' essay examines mug shot photography and anthropometry Mark Haworth-Booth explores the photographer's role in crime documentation and Carol Squiers analyzes how press photography served as both evidence and propaganda during the FBI's expanded powers under J. Edgar Hoover. The book explores the evolution of surveillance from wartime reconnaissance to contemporary security monitoring.
