NCJ Number
92291
Date Published
1983
Length
7 pages
Annotation
A policy on access to juvenile records should facilitate more effective crime control by making the juvenile record available when relevant to decisions about adult offenders while providing an appropriate protective function for those who merit it.
Abstract
A policy of protecting the confidentiality of juvenile records received broad acceptance as a result of the reforms associated with the juvenile court movement. The focus on the reformation and rehabilitation of youthful offenders sought to avoid the long-term stigmatizing effect of juvenile misconduct by restricting access to both the proceedings and the records generated by them. This practice, however, has come under some criticism in the context of efforts to identify chronic adult offenders. Research indicates that useful predictive criteria for identifying high-risk adult robbery or burglary offenders include an early age of juvenile arrest or court appearance and a prior commitment to a training school for juvenile offenders. The practice of sealing or otherwise maintaining the confidentiality of juvenile records has undoubtedly helped many juveniles put a troubled past behind them, but it has also enabled some to continue in crime with relative impunity as young adults. To ensure that the chief advantages of confidentiality and sealing practices are retained, certain limitations on the availability and use of juvenile records should be specified. One limitation might pertain to the types of adult felonies which should be allowed to trigger access to a juvenile record.