WASHINGTON STATUTES AND CODES

10.97.030 - Definitions.

Definitions.

For purposes of this chapter, the definitions of terms in this section shall apply.

     (1) "Criminal history record information" means information contained in records collected by criminal justice agencies, other than courts, on individuals, consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, or other formal criminal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom, including acquittals by reason of insanity, dismissals based on lack of competency, sentences, correctional supervision, and release.

     The term includes information contained in records maintained by or obtained from criminal justice agencies, other than courts, which records provide individual identification of a person together with any portion of the individual's record of involvement in the criminal justice system as an alleged or convicted offender, except:

     (a) Posters, announcements, or lists for identifying or apprehending fugitives or wanted persons;

     (b) Original records of entry maintained by criminal justice agencies to the extent that such records are compiled and maintained chronologically and are accessible only on a chronological basis;

     (c) Court indices and records of public judicial proceedings, court decisions, and opinions, and information disclosed during public judicial proceedings;

     (d) Records of traffic violations which are not punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of more than ninety days;

     (e) Records of any traffic offenses as maintained by the department of licensing for the purpose of regulating the issuance, suspension, revocation, or renewal of drivers' or other operators' licenses and pursuant to RCW 46.52.130;

     (f) Records of any aviation violations or offenses as maintained by the department of transportation for the purpose of regulating pilots or other aviation operators, and pursuant to RCW 47.68.330;

     (g) Announcements of executive clemency.

     (2) "Nonconviction data" consists of all criminal history record information relating to an incident which has not led to a conviction or other disposition adverse to the subject, and for which proceedings are no longer actively pending. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that proceedings are no longer actively pending if more than one year has elapsed since arrest, citation, charge, or service of warrant and no disposition has been entered.

     (3) "Conviction record" means criminal history record information relating to an incident which has led to a conviction or other disposition adverse to the subject.

     (4) "Conviction or other disposition adverse to the subject" means any disposition of charges other than: (a) A decision not to prosecute; (b) a dismissal; or (c) acquittal; with the following exceptions, which shall be considered dispositions adverse to the subject: An acquittal due to a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity and a dismissal by reason of incompetency, pursuant to chapter 10.77 RCW; and a dismissal entered after a period of probation, suspension, or deferral of sentence.

     (5) "Criminal justice agency" means: (a) A court; or (b) a government agency which performs the administration of criminal justice pursuant to a statute or executive order and which allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice.

     (6) "The administration of criminal justice" means performance of any of the following activities: Detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders. The term also includes criminal identification activities and the collection, storage, dissemination of criminal history record information, and the compensation of victims of crime.

     (7) "Disposition" means the formal conclusion of a criminal proceeding at whatever stage it occurs in the criminal justice system.

     (8) "Dissemination" means disclosing criminal history record information or disclosing the absence of criminal history record information to any person or agency outside the agency possessing the information, subject to the following exceptions:

     (a) When criminal justice agencies jointly participate in the maintenance of a single record keeping department as an alternative to maintaining separate records, the furnishing of information by that department to personnel of any participating agency is not a dissemination;

     (b) The furnishing of information by any criminal justice agency to another for the purpose of processing a matter through the criminal justice system, such as a police department providing information to a prosecutor for use in preparing a charge, is not a dissemination;

     (c) The reporting of an event to a record keeping agency for the purpose of maintaining the record is not a dissemination.