HD36 - Creation of a Clearinghouse for Juvenile "Criminal" Records

  • Published: 1988
  • Author: General Assembly. Joint Subcommittee
  • Enabling Authority: House Joint Resolution 320 (Regular Session, 1987)

Executive Summary:
AUTHORITY FOR STUDY

House Joint Resolution No. 320 (1987, Appendix A) authorized the creation of a seven-member joint subcommittee to study the feasibility and desirability of creating a central clearinghouse for criminal history records concerning juveniles. Delegate W. Roscoe Reynolds was the chief patron of the resolution. The joint subcommittee was specifically requested to undertake an assessment of (i) the methods available to judicial personnel to obtain accurate criminal history information as it pertains to juveniles, (ii) the advisability of maintaining a confidential and restricted access juvenile data bank within the Central Criminal Records Exchange or creating a separate but similar system to improve necessary access to juvenile records by judicial officials, and (iii) the costs of creating and maintaining any such system. The rationale supporting creation of a juvenile records clearinghouse, as expressed in H.J.R. No. 320, is to "... provide immediate and accurate presentencing information and thus enable the Commonwealth to intervene appropriately and effectively with juveniles whose crime patterns might be broken early, thus saving both human and financial resources of the Commonwealth."

The membership of the joint subcommittee was appointed as follows: Delegates W. Roscoe Reynolds, John G. Dicks III, and Kenneth B. Rollins were appointed by the Speaker from the House Committee for Courts of Justice; Senators Virgil H. Goode, Jr., and Daniel W. Bird, Jr., were appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections from the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice; and the Honorable James L. Tompkins III, Judge of the Carroll County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court and captain William R. Wagner, Jr., of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Department of State Police, were appointed by the Governor.

Delegate Reynolds was elected chairman and Senator Goode was elected vice-chairman. The subcommittee held two public meetings in Richmond. Additionally, the chairman and staff met for a work session with representatives of the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court, the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of State Police, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Criminal Justice Services. The study was monitored by staff of the House Appropriations Committee.

The following groups were contacted to monitor and provide input into the study: Virginia Council of Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judges (Hon. E. P. Grissom, Chesapeake); Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys; Office of the Executive Secretary, Virginia Supreme Court; Virginia State Police; Department of Corrections, Youth Information Services; Department of Criminal Justice Services.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Following an analysis of the methods currently available for obtaining prompt, accurate and complete information on a particular juvenile's prior contact with the system and the feasibility and desirability of maintaining a confidential record of those contacts, the joint subcommittee makes the following recommendations:

1. That a centralized, automated system be created to maintain background information on juveniles who come into the criminal justice system to ensure proper evaluation and disposition of particular juvenile cases and allow statistical analysis of the data to be used in developing and implementing policies affecting the juvenile justice system.

2. That appropriate safeguards be established by statute and regulation adopted by the Department of Corrections to ensure the security of the system and confidentiality of the data in order to protect juveniles from any misuse of the data collected.

3. That authority be granted to the judiciary to release identifying information on fugitive juveniles charged with serious offenses in order to facilitate apprehension of the juvenile and protect both the juvenile and the public.

4. That efforts to improve criminal justice information systems in the Commonwealth, particularly as those systems affect juveniles, be continued and expanded to allow for proper evaluation of the criminal justice policies of the Commonwealth.