Funk’s article “Young and Arrestless: The Case Against Expunging Juvenile Arrest Records”, makes a valid point for the need to reevaluate the current policy of expungment. Most states mandate that a juvenile’s criminal record be sealed or destroyed once the person reaches 18 or 21, even if the person has raped or murdered someone. He states by “sealing the records” you impede the sentencing by judge’s, effective law enforcement, and increase the risk to society.Funk assumes that juveniles will have the most to gain by having a clean record and the public will have the most to lose. The writer thinks the public has the right to know if juveniles have a past criminal history. He assumes that juvenile crime will continue to rise unless we reconsider the current expungement policies.The writers statement, “expungment is being challenged both intellectually and politically,” indicates he is addressing both scholars and politicians. Because of the power that judges hold and their ability to change current laws Funk tries to target them. Additionally, he seems to be addressing law enforcement officers and readers who have a special interest in expungment. The purpose of Funk’s is to make the reader aware that there is a problem with the current expungement policies. His intention is to stress that violent crimes committed by juveniles have increased dramatically since the inception of expungment. He believes expungment is a direct factor for this increase.Finally the cost may have become too much to bear with the explosion of juvenile crime and the increase in recidivism it gives the writer a valid case that expungment needs to be reconsidered. The writer provides convincing evidence for his views against expunging juvenile arrest records. He cites several FBI statistics showing the increase in violent crimes and recidivism. Funk also applies the “Strain Theory and...
