AN ACT to require the department of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention to release the identification of certain juveniles who escape from custody.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 7B‑2102(d1) is repealed.
SECTION 2.  Article 31 of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 7B‑3102. Disclosure of information about juveniles who escape.
(a)	Notwithstanding G.S. 7B‑2102(d) or any other law to the contrary, within 24 hours of the time a juvenile escapes from custody the Department shall release to the public the juvenile's first name, last initial, and photograph; the name and location of the institution from which the juvenile escaped; and a statement, based on the juvenile's record, of the level of concern of the Department as to the juvenile's threat to self or to others, if:
(1)	The juvenile escapes from a detention facility, and the juvenile is alleged to have committed an offense that would be a Class A, B1, B2, C, D, or E felony if committed by an adult.
(2)	The juvenile escapes from a youth development center, and the juvenile has been adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would be a felony or a Class A1 misdemeanor if committed by an adult.
(b)	When a juvenile escapes from custody, and the juvenile has been adjudicated for an offense that would be a Class 1, 2, or 3 misdemeanor if committed by an adult, the Department may release to the public within 24 hours the juvenile's first name, last initial, and photograph; the name and location of the institution from which the juvenile escaped, or if the juvenile's escape was not from an institution, the circumstances and location of the escape; and a statement, based on the juvenile's record, of the level of concern of the Department as to the juvenile's threat to self or to others.
(c)	If a juvenile subject to subsection (a) or (b) of this section is returned to custody before the disclosure required or permitted is made, the Department shall not make the disclosure.
(d)	The Department shall maintain a photograph of every juvenile in its custody."SECTION 3.(a)  G.S. 7B‑2102(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	A law enforcement officer or agency shall fingerprint and photograph a juvenile who was 10 years of age or older at the time the juvenile allegedly committed a nondivertible offense as set forth in G.S. 7B‑1701, when a complaint has been prepared for filing as a petition and the juvenile is in physical custody of law enforcement or the Department. 
(a1)	A county juvenile detention facility shall photograph a juvenile who has been committed to that facility. The county detention facility shall release any photograph it makes or receives pursuant to this section to the Department, upon the Department's request. The duty of confidentiality in subsection (d) of this section applies to the Department, except as provided in G.S. 7B‑3102."
SECTION 3.(b)  G.S. 7B‑2102(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	A law enforcement officer, facility, or agency who fingerprints or photographs a juvenile pursuant to this section shall do so in a proper format for transfer to the State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. After the juvenile, who was 10 years of age or older at the time of the offense, is adjudicated delinquent of an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult, fingerprints obtained pursuant to this section shall be transferred to the State Bureau of Investigation and placed in the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to be used for all investigative and comparison purposes. Photographs obtained pursuant to this section shall be placed in a format approved by the State Bureau of Investigation and may be used for all investigative or comparison purposes. The State Bureau of Investigation shall release any photograph it receives pursuant to this section to the Department, upon the Department's request. The duty of confidentiality in subsection (d) of this section applies to the Department, except as provided in G.S. 7B‑3102."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 7B‑3100(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Disclosure of information concerning any juvenile under investigation or alleged to be within the jurisdiction of the court that would reveal the identity of that juvenile is prohibited except that publication of pictures of runaways is permitted with the permission of the  parents and except as provided in G.S. 7B‑3102."
SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2007.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 1st day of August, 2007.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 8:40 p.m. this 28th day of August, 2007