SB3513eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB3513 Engrossed LRB096 18293 RLC 33668 b

AN ACT concerning juveniles.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by changing Section 5-905 as follows:

(705 ILCS 405/5-905)

Sec. 5-905. Law enforcement records.

(1) Law Enforcement Records. Inspection and copying of law enforcement records maintained by law enforcement agencies that relate to a minor who has been arrested or taken into custody before his or her 17th birthday shall be restricted to the following and when necessary for the discharge of their official duties:

(a) A judge of the circuit court and members of the staff of the court designated by the judge;

(b) Law enforcement officers, probation officers or prosecutors or their staff, or, when necessary for the discharge of its official duties in connection with a particular investigation of the conduct of a law enforcement officer, an independent agency or its staff created by ordinance and charged by a unit of local government with the duty of investigating the conduct of law enforcement officers;

(c) The minor, the minor's parents or legal guardian and their attorneys, but only when the juvenile has been charged with an offense;

(d) Adult and Juvenile Prisoner Review Boards;

(e) Authorized military personnel;

(f) Persons engaged in bona fide research, with the permission of the judge of juvenile court and the chief executive of the agency that prepared the particular recording: provided that publication of such research results in no disclosure of a minor's identity and protects the confidentiality of the record;

(g) Individuals responsible for supervising or providing temporary or permanent care and custody of minors pursuant to orders of the juvenile court or directives from officials of the Department of Children and Family Services or the Department of Human Services who certify in writing that the information will not be disclosed to any other party except as provided under law or order of court;

(h) The appropriate school official. Inspection and copying shall be limited to law enforcement records transmitted to the appropriate school official by a local law enforcement agency under a reciprocal reporting system established and maintained between the school district and the local law enforcement agency under Section 10-20.14 of the School Code concerning a minor enrolled in a school within the school district who has been arrested for any offense classified as a felony or a Class A or B misdemeanor.

(2) Information identifying victims and alleged victims of sex offenses, shall not be disclosed or open to public inspection under any circumstances. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the victim or alleged victim of any sex offense from voluntarily disclosing his or her identity.

(2.5) If the minor is a victim of aggravated battery, battery, attempted first degree murder, or other non-sexual violent offense, the identity of the victim may be disclosed to appropriate school officials, for the purpose of preventing foreseeable future violence involving minors, by a local law enforcement agency pursuant to an agreement established between the school district and a local law enforcement agency subject to the approval by the presiding judge of the juvenile court.

(3) Relevant information, reports and records shall be made available to the Department of Juvenile Justice when a juvenile offender has been placed in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(4) Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the inspection or disclosure to victims and witnesses of photographs contained in the records of law enforcement agencies when the inspection or disclosure is conducted in the presence of a law enforcement officer for purposes of identification or apprehension of any person in the course of any criminal investigation or prosecution.

(5) The records of law enforcement officers, or of an independent agency created by ordinance and charged by a unit of local government with the duty of investigating the conduct of law enforcement officers, concerning all minors under 17 years of age must be maintained separate from the records of adults and may not be open to public inspection or their contents disclosed to the public except by order of the court or when the institution of criminal proceedings has been permitted under Section 5-130 or 5-805 or required under Section 5-130 or 5-805 or such a person has been convicted of a crime and is the subject of pre-sentence investigation or when provided by law.

(6) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (6), law enforcement officers, and personnel of an independent agency created by ordinance and charged by a unit of local government with the duty of investigating the conduct of law enforcement officers, may not disclose the identity of any minor in releasing information to the general public as to the arrest, investigation or disposition of any case involving a minor. Any victim or parent or legal guardian of a victim may petition the court to disclose the name and address of the minor and the minor's parents or legal guardian, or both. Upon a finding by clear and convincing evidence that the disclosure is either necessary for the victim to pursue a civil remedy against the minor or the minor's parents or legal guardian, or both, or to protect the victim's person or property from the minor, then the court may order the disclosure of the information to the victim or to the parent or legal guardian of the victim only for the purpose of the victim pursuing a civil remedy against the minor or the minor's parents or legal guardian, or both, or to protect the victim's person or property from the minor.

(7) Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit law enforcement agencies when acting in their official capacity from communicating with each other by letter, memorandum, teletype or intelligence alert bulletin or other means the identity or other relevant information pertaining to a person under 17 years of age. The information provided under this subsection (7) shall remain confidential and shall not be publicly disclosed, except as otherwise allowed by law.

(8) No person shall disclose information under this Section except when acting in his or her official capacity and as provided by law or order of court.

(Source: P.A. 96-419, eff. 8-13-09.)