Wanted Sydney woman’s glam mugshot goes viral on Facebook

A mugshot posted online by Sydney Police has gained plenty of attention, but not for the reason they intended.

A mugshot of a wanted Sydney woman posted to social media has not exactly received the kind of attention police intended.

Jocelyn Laird, 44, who is said to frequent the Manly area, was being sought by police in relation to an outstanding warrant. She has since been found.

A photo of Ms Laird was posted on the Northern Beaches Police Area Command Facebook page and across other local pages on Tuesday to help locate her.

But many social media users were more focused on her appearance.

“Wanted for stealing my heart,” one man wrote.

Another person asked what the warrant was for and a man replied: “Taking my breath away.”

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Jocelyn Laird. Picture: NSW Police

Police first limited comments on the post and now it has been deleted.

Manly Observer has also removed the photo and details it shared on Facebook of Ms Laird.

In its place was a post that read: “Readers, we have been in contact with the person previously mentioned and referred them to Dee Why Police. As such we are electing to remove the original information.”

The publication had earlier had to delete and disable comments on the post.

“Thank you all for your feedback – comments have been deleted and disabled. We would like to remind those have criticised that this is absolutely an appropriate post for this page,” Manly Observer wrote, according to The Daily Mail.

“Police have sent the photo and information to us as a matter of public safety news and we have shared similar broadcasts on countless occasions as all and any news sites do.”

People who had shared the post noted the “fan base” Ms Laird had acquired on social media.

Jeremy Meeks’ mugshot was shared in 2014.

He is now an international fashion model. Picture: Robin L Marshall/Getty Images

One of the most famous mugshots to go viral because of the person’s appearance was American man Jeremy Meeks, a former gang member turned international fashion model.

He was arrested in 2014 during a gang sweep in California and rose to fame when his mugshot was posted by police on Facebook.

He now has 1.6 million followers on Instagram and was said to have a net worth of almost $6 million in 2020.

In Australia last year, a mugshot of wanted man Jess Mabilia went viral after it was posted by Victoria Police. He was wanted for contravening court orders.

“I hope I find him on Tinder before authorities find him,” one woman wrote, gaining thousands of likes.