Pennsylvania recognizes the importance of protecting records of juvenile justice involvement from public disclosure. These sensitive records can impact a minor’s ability to get a job as they grow up, apply for college and financial aid, and even join the armed services. However, the law provides for certain exceptions to this protection for records involving the most serious crimes like murder, manslaughter, aggravated and sexual assault, rape, and arson. Mixed with these violent offenses, however, are others that do not match up with the rest.
 
To address this discrepancy, we will be introducing legislation that would remove the offenses of burglary, robbery, robbery of a motor vehicle, as well as violation of Pennsylvania’s Uniform Firearms Act, from the list of offenses that allow for public disclosure of a child’s court and law enforcement records and files.
 
These offenses are not equivalent to the likes of kidnapping and arson, so the law should not treat them as such. If a child’s juvenile justice records must ever be disclosed to the public – carrying with them the potential to cause lasting damage throughout the rest of their lives – we should make sure that public disclosure is reserved for only the most serious offenses.
 
We look forward to you joining us in rectifying this discrepancy and taking action to reasonably limit access to juvenile justice records in Pennsylvania.