SAN FRANCISCO — (AP) — San Francisco police say they will stop releasing the mug shots of people who have been arrested unless they pose a threat to the public.

Police Chief Bill Scott says the new policy starting Wednesday is aimed at stopping the spread of negative stereotypes of minorities. He and outside police experts say San Francisco is the first city they know of do so explicitly based on racial prejudice.

University of California Berkeley public policy professor Jack Glaser, who researches racial stereotyping, says data shows Black people are more likely to have their cases dismissed. But the mug shots live on. That contributes to Americans making an unfair association between people of color and crime.