What is a Youth Record

If a person gets in trouble with the law, records of the incident are kept by the police, crown prosecutors, courts and correctional agencies. Records can be in kept in various forms including paper, electronic media, microfiche, audio recording or video.

Records about people aged 12 to 17, are called "youth records." They are kept by the youth court, police and government agencies that handle extrajudicial measures.

What information is in a youth record ?

Youth records might include:

• name and any aliases of the young person;
• police notes, photographs and other identifiers, such as fingerprints;
• extrajudicial measures used by the police;
• arrest and charge dates;
• offence the young person was charged with;
• outcome or disposition of the charge, for example, guilty, acquittal, stay of proceedings, withdrawal of the charge;
• sentence imposed if the young person was found guilty;
• information provided by the youth, family members, neighbours, former and present employers, school authorities and victims in connection with the proceedings;
• special reports prepared by the police, probation officers, youth workers, mental health professionals, and others;
• copies of court transcripts.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by People's Law School, 2014.

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