In The Eternal Criminal Record, James Jacobs detailed how it has become increasingly difficult to escape the mark of a criminal record. One way to “wipe the slate clean” is through the official expungement of criminal records. We assess public views toward this policy using a national sample of American adults (N = 1,000). Public support for expungement is high for persons convicted of property and substance‐related offenses, who stay crime free for 7–10 years, and who “signal” their reform through stable employment and completion of a rehabilitation program. Members of the public are also concerned about unfettered public access to criminal records and want to ensure that any available criminal record information is accurate. The strongest predictor of support for expungement is a belief in redeemability.

中文翻译：

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超越永恒的犯罪记录：公众支持废除死刑

詹姆斯·雅各布斯（James Jacobs）在 《永恒的犯罪记录》中详细介绍了如何越来越难以摆脱犯罪记录的痕迹。“擦拭石板”的一种方法是通过正式删除犯罪记录。我们使用美国成年人（N = 1,000）。对于被裁定犯有与财产和物质有关的罪行的人，对犯罪者的公共支持很高，他们在7-10年内没有犯罪，并通过稳定的就业和完成康复计划来“发出信号”进行改革。公众也关注公众不受限制地获取犯罪记录，并希望确保任何可用的犯罪记录信息都是准确的。支持删除的最强有力的预测因素是对可赎回性的信念。