{"data":{"id":"us-dc/d.c.-code-16-2333","jurisdiction":"us-dc","citation":"D.C. Code § 16-2333","heading":"Police and other law enforcement records.","body":"(a)\nExcept as otherwise provided in this section and in section 16-2333.01, law enforcement records and files concerning a child shall not be open to public inspection nor shall their contents or existence be disclosed to the public unless:\n(1)\nA charge of delinquency is transferred for criminal prosecution under section 16-2307;\n(1A)\nThe record pertains to a civil Notice of Violation;\n(2)\nThe interest of national security requires; or\n(3)\nThe court otherwise orders in the interest of the child.\n\n(b)\nInspection of such records and files is permitted by:\n(1)\nCourts:\n(A)\nThe Superior Court, having the child currently before it in any proceedings; and\n(B)\nAny court in which respondent is charged or convicted as a respondent in a delinquency matter, or status offense, or as a defendant in a criminal offense, or the court’s probation staff, or by officials of rehabilitation or penal institutions and other rehabilitation or penal facilities to which he is committed, or by a parole board in considering his parole or discharge or in exercising supervision over him;\n(2)\nCase participants:\n(A)\nThe child and any attorney for the child without regard to the age of the child at the time of the inspection and without regard to the existence of a pending Family Court case;\n(B)\nParents or guardians of the child and any attorney for them without regard to the age of the child at the time of the inspection and without regard to the existence of a pending Family Court case;\n(C)\nEach eyewitness, victim, or the immediate family members or caretakers of the eyewitness or victim if the eyewitness or victim is a child or is deceased or incapacitated, and their duly authorized attorneys, when the records relate to the incident in which they were an eyewitness or a victim; and\n(D)\nThe officers of public and private institutions or agencies to which the child is currently committed, and those professional persons or agencies responsible for the child’s supervision after release;\n(3)\nProsecutors and law enforcement:\n(A)\nLaw enforcement officers of the United States, the District of Columbia, and other jurisdictions when necessary for the discharge of their current official duties;\n(B)\nThe United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, his assistants, and any other prosecuting attorneys when necessary for the discharge of their official duties;\n(4)\nGovernment agencies and entities:\n(A)\nProfessional employees of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services when necessary for the discharge of their official duties;\n(B)\nThe Child Fatality Review Committee when necessary for the discharge of its official duties;\n(C)\nAuthorized personnel in the Mayor’s Family Court Liaison, the Department of Health, the Department Mental Health, the Child and Family Services Agency, the Department of Human Services, the District of Columbia Public Schools, public charter schools, parochial schools, and private schools for the purpose of delivery of services to individuals under the jurisdiction of the Family Court, or their families;\n(D)\nThe Children’s Advocacy Center and the public and private agencies and institutions that are members of the multi-disciplinary investigation team, for purposes of carrying out their official duties, except that only information contained in the records, and not the records of copies of the records, may be provided pursuant to this subparagraph;\n(E)\nThe Juvenile Abscondence Review Committee for the purposes of examining circumstances and events surrounding any homicide, assault with intent to kill, and assault with a deadly weapon committed in the District by or to a juvenile in abscondence; and\n(F)\nThe Violence Fatality Review Committee when necessary for the discharge of its official duties; and\n(5)\nAny other person, agency, or institution, by order of the court, having a professional interest in the child or in the work of the law enforcement department.\n\n(c)\nThe Family Court, upon application of the Attorney General and notice and opportunity for respondent or his counsel to respond to the application, may order the release of certain information contained in the law enforcement records if:\n(1)\nThe respondent has escaped from detention or from the custody of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services and is likely to pose a danger or threat of bodily harm to another person;\n(2)\nRelease of such information is necessary to protect the public safety and welfare; and\n(3)\nThe respondent has been charged with a crime of violence as defined in section 23-1331(4).\n\n(d)\nPhotographs may be displayed to potential witnesses for identification purposes, in accordance with the standards of fairness applicable to adults.\n\n(e)\n(1)\nCertain juvenile crime information (but not records) shall not be confidential and shall be disclosable to the public strictly in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.\n(2)\nThe public availability of the information regarding a child shall be limited to:\n(A)\nThe child’s name;\n(B)\nThe fact that the child was arrested;\n(C)\nThe charges at arrest;\n(D)\nThe charges in the petition filed pursuant to section 16-2305;\n(E)\nWhether the petition resulted in an adjudication and the charges for which the child was found involved; and\n(F)\nIf the child was found involved, whether at initial disposition the child was placed on probation or committed to the custody of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services.\n(3)\nThe information shall be available only regarding:\n(A)\nA juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent of a crime of violence (as defined in section 23-1331(4)), or any felony offense under Chapter 45 of Title 22 (weapons) [§ 22-4501 et seq.] or Chapter 23 of Title 6 (Firearms Control) [Chapter 25 of Title 7, § 7-2501.01 et seq. (2001 Ed.)];\n(B)\nA juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent 2 or more times of:\n(i)\nA dangerous crime (as defined in section 23-1331(3)) that is not included in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph;\n(ii)\nUnauthorized use of a vehicle;\n(iii)\nTheft in the first degree where the property obtained or used is a motor vehicle (as defined in section 22-3215(a));\n(iv)\nA assault [Assault] (as defined in section 22-404(a)(2)); or\n(v)\nAny combination thereof; and\n(C)\nAn adult offender (including a juvenile tried as an adult under this chapter) convicted of a felony or of misdemeanor assault; provided, that no more than 3 years have lapsed between the completion of his or her juvenile sentence and the adult conviction.\n(4)\nThis subsection permits the limited disclosure of information contained in records and files otherwise protected from disclosure under § 16-2333, but does not authorize disclosure of the records and files.\n(5)\nThis subsection shall apply only to individuals adjudicated after January 1, 2011, regardless of when the criminal offense occurred.\n(6)\nAny law enforcement information shared with the public shall comply with Metropolitan Police Regulations that apply to adult criminal records, including the Duncan Ordinance (Chapter 10 of Title 1 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations).”.\n\n(f)\nNotwithstanding the confidentiality requirements of subsection (b) of this section, the Metropolitan Police Department shall make reports available to the public every 6 months of the number of children arrested in the District by the location of the police service area within which the juvenile suspect lives, and giving the location of the police service area within which the crime occurred, the charges, and the month in which the crime occurred.\n\n(g)\nNo person shall disclose, inspect, or use records in violation of this section.","path":["Title 16. Particular Actions, Proceedings and Matters. [Enacted title]","Chapter 23. Family Division [Family Court] Proceedings.","Subchapter I. Proceedings Regarding Delinquency, Neglect, or Need of Supervision."],"source_url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/16-2333","current_through":"2026-08-20 (D.C. Law 26-175)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-29T05:44:07Z","sha256":"a51a79977293b2f369e58067900831fce83c56f16e73e40d1fa47d75909e3a17","source_id":"us-dc","stale":false,"prev":"us-dc/d.c.-code-16-2332","next":"us-dc/d.c.-code-16-2333.01"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}