NCJ Number
92290
Date Published
1983
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Because chronic offenders tend to have an extensive juvenile record, procedures should be developed to make the juvenile records of adult offenders easily and routinely available to adult courts.
Abstract
Priority attention to chronic offenders is hampered not only by prosecutors' failure to note a defendant's prior record but also by the failure of official 'rap' sheets to include sufficient information on the defendant. While prior arrests may be included, court dispositions are often missing. Also, 'rap' sheets are not always available for the screening decision. In many New York cities, for example, prosecutors must screen cases before arraignment, such that critical decisions about a case must be made without a defendant's criminal record being consulted. The most serious problem, however, is the lack of routine availability of juvenile records for the processing of adult offenders. Research studies indicate that chronic offenders have a concentration of offenses in the juvenile years that makes them a high risk for being serious adult offenders. The first adult offense, which is often treated leniently by adult courts may be but the latest in a series of offenses which began in juvenile years. Complete criminal history information, including juvenile offenses, should be routinely available to adult courts with a single retrieval from a computerized file. The problem of providing an accurate criminal history that includes juvenile records is complicated by the informality and leniency with which the juvenile court handles cases. Cases that would most likely issue in felony convictions in an adult court may not have the same result in juvenile court. Relevant data from New York courts are provided, along with nine footnotes.