Massachusetts Criminal Lawyer Blog

What is a “Criminal Record”?

Records of criminal cases are kept in a number of different places in Massachusetts: these include the police department involved in the case; the District Attorney’s Office or the Attorney General’s Office; the Court or Courts where the case was prosecuted; the Massachusetts Board of Probation; and the Massachusetts Criminal History Systems Board. With certain very limited exceptions criminal records in Massachusetts are never expunged or destroyed. So, if you have been to court and your case was dismissed or you have been found not guilty the records of the case are not expunged or destroyed. The records of the case remain and they remain forever unless they are ordered sealed.

(1) The records of a criminal case kept by a police department – and these would include such things as the police investigative reports, police reports of witness statements and interviews, arrest reports, booking reports, etc. – are kept by the police departments for as long as the police department wishes to keep them. These records are unaffected by what goes on in Court. These records are also unaffected by any court order that the “court” record be sealed. Generally speaking, the public does not have access to most of these police records.