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Many different types of records are available online as part of background checks – but what many people don’t realize is that some juvenile records are available as well. The common assumption is that juvenile records are generally not publicly available to protect the identity of the person convicted seeing as the crime was performed at a young age.
But what you’ll find is that this isn’t always the case.
Two Different Approaches to Juvenile Records
In some states all juvenile records are automatically declared sealed which means that they are not part of the public record and cannot be located by a background search. This would protect juveniles and thus prevent people from discriminating against them based on mistakes that were made in the past.
However in many other states juvenile court records are all part of the public record unless specifically designated as being sealed by the court judge. In some cases although these records may not be sealed initially they are later sealed upon a petition.
Both of these approaches are currently in use across the nation. In some cases because juvenile records are ‘open’ and available to viewing by the general public it can cause discrimination when it comes to employment, or even university acceptance. However at the same time the argument in favor of open juvenile records is that some of these records show a tendency of violence which should be considered when looking into the background of a person.
The truth is that this argument is being played out when it comes to criminal convictions as well, where discrimination against people with past convictions is high especially because information about those convictions is so easily available.
When it comes to juvenile records however, there is an additional factor to consider: Should a person be automatically protected because of their age? While some think that the answer should be an unconditional ‘yes’, the fact of the matter is that sometimes it might help universities and employers to make an informed decision if they know more about these convictions.
All said and done, the bottom line is that there are some juvenile records available online right now. This could change in the future depending on legislation that may or may not be introduced, but for now in certain states juvenile criminal records are all part of the public record until and unless they are declared sealed.
If you’re worried about a juvenile record that you may have, the first thing you need to do is find out if you have one, find out whether or not it is public knowledge, and then perhaps apply to have it sealed if it is.