The purpose of the edition is to assist legislators, planners, administrators, legal analysts, and others who want to develop or use criminal record systems or to improve criminal record policymaking. Criminal history records have become increasingly important in identifying serious offenders under State and Federal statutes and in bail and pretrial release decisions, sentencing determinations, and correctional supervision and release decisions. In addition, the availability of accurate and complete criminal records is especially critical in identifying persons who are not eligible to purchase firearms under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. Further, the National Child Protection Act expands the role of criminal history records in protecting children, the elderly, and the disabled from abuse. The edition references all current State laws and regulations up to July 1994, as well as executive orders and opinions of attorney generals where applicable. The edition also includes a review and analysis section containing a general overview of State laws and regulations and a discussion of trends and conclusions concerning two especially important information policy issues: (1) requirements imposed on criminal justice agencies to maintain record quality; and (2) dissemination and use of criminal history information for noncriminal justice purposes. Summary tables showing trends and developments in criminal justice information law and policy and criminal justice information statutes and regulations by State constitute the bulk of the edition.
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