Commumity Policing in Schools K-12 1 | Page 10

Emerging technology

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Developer: Students of the Mikva Challenge Foundation. The Mikva Challenge is a nonpartisan organization that prioritizes the development of civic leadership in underserved Chicago high school youth.

Purpose/Intent: The main purpose of the app is to give those seeking expungement of their juvenile records more accessibility to the legal resources.

Actual Use: Expunge.io only applies to juveniles, if there were changes to be made it would also be beneficial to the adults with petty offenses who want to get their records expunged.

Over the years policing and juvenile delinquency has been an ongoing issue. Laws and policies governing a juvenile’s behavior are very broad due to the age mental capacity and physical development of the juvenile. However, in order to protect both citizens of the community and a juvenile’s right, the government, state and other local officials must implement tools to better assist juvenile’s in becoming active members of society. In January of 2014, the free, web-based App, Expunge.io, launched. Many juveniles don’t know about the process of getting their records cleared, so the students of Mikva Challenge tackled the issue one summer.

Expunge.io is a very important tool that should be implemented by every juvenile in Illinois with a record. A juvenile record is a barrier to employment and education. Juvenile records can have a long- term detrimental impact on ones future opportunities. Through research, Mikva Challenge discovered that of the 25,000 teens arrested in Chicago in 2012, only 70 got their records expunged. Many of these juvenile’s don’t know their options and do not fully understand the options of expungement. However, while many people qualify to have their records expunged, few people apply for expungement. This web app aims to clarify expungement, with the hope of more people getting their records erased. You also have individuals with petty offenses that need their records expunged. This app could also help those people who are being held back from getting that good job after college.

By: Ravyn Johnson

Emerging Technology

Policing Juveniles with Modern Day Tools and Technology

Expunge.io