                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SERIOUS OR HABITUAL OFFENDER COMPREHENSIVE ACTION PROGRAM; DEFINITION;
DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION; PENALTY (§ 16.1-330.1)

A. For purposes of this article, a serious or habitual juvenile offender is a
minor who has been (i) adjudicated delinquent or convicted of murder or
attempted murder, armed robbery, any felony sexual assault or malicious
wounding, or a felony violation of a gang-related crime pursuant to Article 2.1
(&#xA7; 18.2-46.1 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, or (ii) convicted at
least three times for offenses which would be felonies or Class 1 misdemeanors
if committed by an adult. Qualifying convictions or adjudications shall include
only those for offenses occurring after July 1, 1993. However, any Serious or
Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program (SHOCAP) in existence on July 1,
1993, shall be deemed to have been established pursuant to this article and,
notwithstanding the limitations of this subsection, may continue to supervise
persons who were being supervised on July 1, 1993. Juvenile offenders under
SHOCAP supervision at the time of their eighteenth birthday who have been
committed to state care pursuant to subdivision A 14 of &#xA7; 16.1-278.8 or
&#xA7; 16.1-285.1 may continue to be supervised by SHOCAP until their
twenty-first birthday.

B. The Serious or Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program (SHOCAP) is a
multidisciplinary interagency case management and information sharing system
which enables the juvenile and criminal justice system, schools, and social
service agencies to make more informed decisions regarding juveniles who
repeatedly commit serious criminal and delinquent acts. Each SHOCAP shall
supervise serious or habitual juvenile offenders in the community as well as
those under probation or parole supervision and enhance current conduct control,
supervision and treatment efforts to provide a more coordinated public safety
approach to serious juvenile crime, increase the opportunity for success with
juvenile offenders and assist in the development of early intervention
strategies.

C. Any county or city in the Commonwealth may by action of its governing body
establish a SHOCAP committee. The committee shall consist of representatives
from local law enforcement, schools, attorneys for the Commonwealth, juvenile
court services, juvenile detention centers or group homes, mental and medical
health agencies, state and local children and family service agencies, and the
Department of Juvenile Justice. Any county or city which establishes a SHOCAP
committee shall, within 45 days of such action, notify the Department of
Criminal Justice Services. The Department shall issue statewide SHOCAP
guidelines and provide technical assistance to local jurisdictions on
implementation of SHOCAP.

D. Each SHOCAP committee shall share among its members and with other SHOCAP
committees otherwise confidential information on identified serious or habitual
juvenile offenders. Every person, including members of the SHOCAP committee, who
is to receive confidential information pursuant to this article shall maintain
the confidentiality of that information.
			All records and reports concerning serious or habitual juvenile offenders
made available to members of a SHOCAP committee and all records and reports
identifying an individual offender which are generated by the committee from
such reports shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed, except as
specifically authorized by this article or other applicable law. Disclosure of
the information may be made to other staff from member agencies as authorized by
the SHOCAP committee for the furtherance of case management, community
supervision, conduct control and locating of the offender for the application
and coordination of appropriate services. Staff from the member agencies who
receive such information will be governed by the confidentiality provisions of
this article. The staff from the member agencies who will qualify to have access
to the SHOCAP information shall be limited to those individuals who provide
direct services to the offender or who provide community conduct control and
supervision to the offender.
			The provisions of this article authorizing information sharing between and
among SHOCAP committees shall take precedence over the provisions of (i) Article
12 (&#xA7; 16.1-299 et seq.) of Chapter 11 of this title governing dissemination
of court and law-enforcement records concerning juveniles, (ii) Article 5
(&#xA7; 22.1-287 et seq.) of Chapter 14 of Title 22.1 governing access to pupil
records, (iii) Title 37.2 and any regulations enacted pursuant thereto governing
access to juvenile mental health records, and (iv) Title 63.2 and any
regulations enacted pursuant thereto governing access to records concerning
treatments or services provided to a juvenile.

E. It shall be unlawful for any staff person from a member agency to disclose or
to knowingly permit, assist or encourage the unauthorized release of any
identifying information contained in any reports or records received or
generated by a SHOCAP committee. A violation of this subsection shall be
punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

HISTORY: 1993, cc. 465, 927; 1996, c. 293; 1999, c. 508; 2004, c. 418.