NCJ Number
130478
Date Published
1990
Length
72 pages
Annotation
This review of information policy issues facing the New York State juvenile justice system focuses on access to juvenile delinquency proceedings, access to sealed records, access to social service records, access to police diversion records, fingerprinting, and information systems.
Abstract
While most states have laws relating to the sealing of juvenile records, New York State is unusual because the law requires that records on every case not resulting in a delinquency finding must be sealed. These laws are similar to adult court sealing statutes. However, widely different practices exist regarding access to sealed records in 11 counties studied. In addition, juvenile proceedings are presumptively open to the public and the news media, although the presumption of openness is easily overcome. Furthermore, no State laws or regulations govern the collection, maintenance, and dissemination of police contact records for cases not referred for further legal processing. Moreover, computerization is limited and no statewide capability exists for tracking specific cases through the juvenile justice process. Table, notes, list of abbreviations, and 46 references