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Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
1995 SESSION
LD1977665Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 16.1-301 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 16.1-301 Law-enforcement records; not confidential.
A. The court shall require all law-enforcement agencies to take
special precautions to ensure that law-enforcement records concerning a
juvenile who has not been charged with or otherwise alleged to have
committed an offense which would be a crime if committed by an adult
are protected against disclosure to any unauthorized person. The
police departments of the cities of the Commonwealth, and the police
departments or sheriffs of the counties, as the case may be, shall keep
separate records as to violations of law other than violations of motor
vehicle laws committed by juveniles. Unless a charge of delinquency is
transferred for criminal prosecution in the circuit court or the court
otherwise orders disclosure in the interests of the juvenile or of national
security, such All such records with respect to such
juvenile juveniles charged with an offense which would be a crime
if committed by an adult shall not be open to public
inspection nor and their contents may be
disclosed to the public.
B. Inspection of such records shall be permitted only by the following:
1. A court having the juvenile currently before it in any proceeding;
2. The officers of public and nongovernmental institutions or agencies
to which the juvenile is currently committed, and those responsible for his
supervision after release;
3. Any other person, agency, or institution, by order of the court,
having a legitimate interest in the case or in the work of the
law-enforcement agency;
4. Law-enforcement officers of other jurisdictions, by order of the
court, when necessary for the discharge of their current official duties;
5. The probation and other professional staff of a court in which the
juvenile is subsequently convicted of a criminal offense for the purpose of a
presentence report or other dispositional proceedings, or by officials of
penal institutions and other penal facilities to which he is committed, or by
a parole board in considering his parole or discharge or in exercising
supervision over him;
6. The juvenile, parent, guardian or other custodian and counsel for the
juvenile by order of the court; and
7. As provided in §§ 19.2-389.1 and 19.2-390.
C. The police department of the cities and towns and the police
departments or sheriffs of the counties may release, upon request to one
another and to state and federal law-enforcement agencies, current
information on juvenile arrests. The information exchanged shall be limited
to name, address, physical description, date of arrest, and the charge for
which the arrest was made. The information shall be used by the receiving
agency for current investigation purposes only and shall not result in the
creation of new files or records on individual juveniles on the part of the
receiving agency.