Book Review: The Eternal Criminal Record

“Every police officer has the power to stigmatize any person with a lifelong arrest record.” Federal and state repositories hold criminal records on over a quarter of the U.S. adult population. They often lack accuracy, clarity, and completeness. About half of FBI rap sheets contain no disposition content. By 2014, only half the states had unified computer-searchable court records. Very few have information on the disposition of criminal cases online. Created for virtually every arrest, regardless of severity or judicial outcome, their publication can have onerous effects.