This article from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) offers a broader discussion, derived from an NIJ-hosted webinar, of the difficulty of clearing criminal records in the digital age. It considers the need to balance the competing interests of people who desire an expungement of their criminal records, which may contain dated or misleading information, and the law enforcement community, who argue that retaining accurate information regarding a person’s past criminal activity serves an essential public safety purpose.

This article touches on two NIJ-funded studies focused on understanding the role that having a criminal record plays as a distinct barrier to reentry:

1. An ongoing evaluation of expungement and its effects on recidivism, housing, and employment. Initial findings offer preliminary insights on the availability, viability, and impact of criminal-record-clearing processes.
2. A completed study on the permanency and accuracy of criminal records in the digital age.

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