NCJ Number
87080
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 33 Issue: 4 Dated: (November 1982) Pages: 49-53
Date Published
1982
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Confidentiality for juvenile offenders should be abandoned, because it has not had the intended benign effect on the juvenile offender and has undermined the control of serious crimes committed by young adult offenders.
Abstract
Confidentiality for the juvenile offender, which was initially intended to secure the juvenile against the social stigma of deviancy and against incremental penalties for successive offenses as an adult, has been implemented through many facets that include sealing the record, withholding adjudication, setting aside the verdict, and expungement. Confidentiality has been at the core of the juvenile system for a long time as an aspect of the system's effort to shield juveniles from being publicly labelled as criminals and thus hamper their integration into normative society. Confidentiality, however, removes a strong deterrent for juvenile misbehavior, the making of the misbehavior public. Making the names of sanctioned juveniles public would also be part of teaching juveniles that deviant behavior has undesirable consequences. The heaviest price for juvenile justice confidentiality, however, is paid in the adult justice system. Criminal career studies demonstrate that it is the frequency of offenses rather than the seriousness of any one offense which is significant in predicting the chronic offender. Typically, chronic offenders begin their careers relatively early in life, hit their peak in their 20's, and then subside; however, because of the confidentiality of juvenile records, the adult courts have difficulty in getting the true picture of a young adult offender's criminal record. The sentencing factor of criminal history can thus not be properly considered for young adult offenders. Twelve notes are listed.