Article Three of the North Carolina Code authorizes the attorney general to establish in the Department of Justice a division designated as the Division of Criminal Statistics. This division is authorized to collect and correlate information on criminal law administration, including crimes committed, arrests made, dispositions on preliminary hearings, prosecutions, convictions, acquittals, punishment, appeals, and offender demographics and criminal history. Article Four establishes the State Bureau of Investigation. In addition to its other duties, the Bureau is required to collect and manage identification records, such as fingerprints and photographs. This same law has a provision that sets policy for criminal record checks on providers of treatment for or services to children, the elderly, mental health patients, the sick, and the disabled. Article Five of the penal code establishes procedure for criminal history record checks for certain applicants for employment. An act pertinent to the securing of a permit for carrying a concealed handgun includes provisions for a background check based on the disclosure of criminal history information. Also included in this compendium are laws that prohibit the unlawful access of computerized records; provision for the expungement of specified criminal records; allowance for criminal history checks on specified job applicants, notably child-care workers; access to public records; records exempt from public access; and the organization and duties of the Division of Criminal Information.
Compendium of State Privacy and Security Legislation: 1997 Overview - North Carolina; Article Three, Criminal Statistics
NCJ Number
170068
Date Published
May 1997
Annotation
This is a 1997 overview of North Carolina law pertinent to the privacy and security of criminal justice information.
Abstract
Date Published: May 1, 1997