Juvenile Records Could Soon Be Public Records
The criminal records of some juveniles could become public record under legislation passed by a Senate committee. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Norman said parents and school officials are often at a disadvantage, not knowing the history of juvenile delinquents in their neighborhoods and schools.
The privacy of youth offender records is a result of the separation of juvenile courts from criminal court systems. When the first juvenile court was created in Chicago, IL, in 1899, it was designed to “spare juveniles from harsh proceedings of adult court, punitive and unseemly conditions of adult jails and penitentiaries, and the stigma of being branded ‘criminal,’” This new system of juvenile justice administration was designed to be less punitive and more therapeutic than the adult system and included the idea of keeping juvenile proceedings and records private.
State laws and judicial norms were established with the understanding that the preservation of the privacy of juveniles adjudicated in the juvenile court is a critical component of the youth’s rehabilitation. In the face of increasing public concerns over juvenile crime and violence, government agencies, school officials, the public, and victims are seeking more information about juvenile offenders. An increasing number of States are responding to this need by allowing public access to and victim participation in juvenile proceedings, broadening access to juvenile records, fingerprinting and photographing delinquent youth, and altering expungement laws for juvenile records. The idea that Juveniles have the same capacity as adults to understand the complex issues involved in making adult decisions is really what’s at issue here. Is a 14 year old able to make the same distinctions as an adult with respect to the consequences of their actions?
January 2nd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I am 18 years of age and when i was a minor i made some desions that where not right all though i did make those decisions, and was punished for them, i do not feel right that a person that has a juvenile record that it should be viewable by the public because people now days would make me feel like i did something wrong for the rest of my life even though i already paid for those mistakes once if the juvenile records where to be released i think that the person would have to live with that mistake for years and it also would affected the kind of future the person will have because everyone knows what happened in your life and i dont think its anyones right to do this to someone because of a mistake they made when they where younger
November 21st, 2009 at 4:53 pm
i agree…let the past be the past and learn for the future…the reason for this system of punishment to be less harsh than actual crimes committed is because once your an adult you have no excuses of making adult decisions and standing by the consequenes that come with that. however when your underage theres a reason why your underage and the law has a specific age required to be considered an adult. you cant just all of a sudden change that in thinking kids are now able to be punished for their crimes equivilent to an adults crimes…thats just absurd and letting them live with that for the rest of their life is a punishment worse than somone who deserved a consequence they made when they were an actual adult. first of all you dont know how fragile the mind of a child can be..how easily pursuasive and manipulated it can be shaped…so then how can u compare their crimes to somone of maturity…
November 22nd, 2011 at 12:28 am
I do not think this should happen; I fear it will do more damage than good. Many young people make silly mistakes and these mistakes should not brand them for life and follow them, affecting their ability to find employment, rent an apartment, buy a car or a house, or get a volunteer position. I think this should apply to violent youth offenses, unless these offenses were premeditated and done with careful, cold calculation and full understanding of the extent o the crime. Myself, I was wrongly prescribed medications as a teen which resulted in behavior that, if I had to reveal it when applying for positions, would close doors for me.