The concept behind the creation of many of today’s criminal databases ranging from registered sex offenders to individuals with DUI offenses and more serious crimes is to identify patterns of behavior and to prevent a repetition of destructive actions. For example, databases within the U.S. at the present which deal with DUI offenders is meant as a preventative measure to ensure that individuals that repeatedly endanger other people by driving while under the influence of alcohol or an illegal substance are given stricter punishments up till the point that they are either imprisoned, lose their license or both. The reasoning behind this is to keep the roads safe and to prevent crimes related to vehicular manslaughter or the accidental destruction of private or public property. In the case of creating a database for juveniles with prior delinquent acts, a database created specifically for them would act in the same capacity wherein having a local, state and national database would allow the police to determine if a juvenile individual has committed similar acts in the past and if their pattern of behavior has not changed. Through this process, stricter punishments and better methods of observation can be implemented to prevent their behavior from continuing to negatively impact members of the general public (Leiber & Peck, 2015). As such, this paper wholeheartedly agrees with the creation of a juvenile database.
Access to such a database should only be for law enforcement and members of the criminal justice system since juveniles should not be considered under the same criminal classification as adults due to the potential for their behavior to significantly change in the future. For example, individuals that have been registered as sex offenders wherein due to their actions (such as paedophilia) they can now be considered as a danger to children and, as such, limiting their capability to be around them is a necessity given the potential ramifications of their continued interaction. Since they are adults and they are more likely to be set in their ways as compared to juveniles, their records are available to the general public. However, with such a record comes a level of social stigma (even pariah status) which juveniles simply do not deserve due to their potential for change.
Other databases have been created, each with their specific crimes, that enable local law enforcement and government officials to limit the actions of particular individuals who have been labelled as either social nuisances or real dangers to the general public. A majority of the actions of juveniles are often considered as social nuisances and, as such, should be approached under a stance that is not as harsh. That is why a juvenile database is important to help law enforcement identify what activities a juvenile offender should be dissuaded from doing; however, such information should not be available to the public. This is related to the concepts mentioned earlier surrounding social stigmas and criminal actions wherein individuals whose criminal records can be viewed by the general are often ostracized making them far more likely to turn towards criminal actions (Zajac, Sheidow & Davis, 2015). To give juveniles the capacity to change themselves for the better, their confidential information should remain only within the criminal justice system. This ensures that they are given a “clean slate” so to speak, at least in the eyes of the general public.
Reference List
Leiber, M. J., & Peck, J. H. (2015). Race, Gender, Crime Severity, and Decision Making in the Juvenile Justice System. Crime & Delinquency, 61(6), 771-797.
Zajac, K., Sheidow, A. J., & Davis, M. (2015). Juvenile justice, mental health, and the transition to adulthood: A review of service system involvement and unmet needs in the U.S. Children & Youth Services Review, 56139-148.