§ 15-11-82 - Juvenile law enforcement records; maintenance; inspection - Georgia Statutes

O.C.G.A. 15-11-82 (2010)
15-11-82. Juvenile law enforcement records; maintenance; inspection

(a) Except as provided in Code Sections 15-11-79 and 15-11-83, law enforcement records and files concerning a child shall be kept separate from the records and files of arrests of adults.

(b) Unless a charge of delinquency is transferred for criminal prosecution under Code Section 15-11-30.2, or the interest of national security requires, or the case is one in which the general public may not be excluded from the hearings under Code Section 15-11-78, or the court otherwise orders in the interest of the child, the records and files shall not be open to public inspection nor shall their contents be disclosed to the public.

(c) Inspection of the records and files is permitted by:

(1) A juvenile court having the child before it in any proceeding;

(2) Counsel for a party to the proceedings, with the consent of the court;

(3) The officers of public institutions or agencies to whom the child is committed;

(4) Law enforcement officers of this state, the United States, or any other jurisdiction when necessary for the discharge of their official duties;

(5) A court in which the child is convicted of a criminal offense, for the purpose of a presentence report or other dispositional proceeding;

(6) Officials of penal institutions and other penal facilities to which the child is committed;

(7) A parole board in considering the child's parole or discharge or in exercising supervision over the child; or

(8) Any school superintendent, principal, assistant principal, school guidance counselor, school social worker, school psychologist certified under Chapter 2 of Title 20, or school law enforcement officer appointed pursuant to Chapter 2, 3, or 8 of Title 20 when necessary for the discharge of his or her official duties.

(d) The court shall allow authorized representatives of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Corrections, and the Council of Juvenile Court Judges to inspect and copy law enforcement records for the purpose of obtaining statistics on children.

(e) Any law enforcement records and files involving an offense over which the superior court shall have exclusive jurisdiction as provided in paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Code Section 15-11-28 shall be kept and reported in the same manner as the records and files of adults.

(f) Access to fingerprint records submitted to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation pursuant to Code Section 15-11-83 shall be limited to the administration of criminal justice purposes as defined in Code Section 15-11-2.