Of course it does. This information is very interesting for prospective (or current) employers, clients etc… If they have easy access to this information, it would be stupid of them to ignore it.
Which is exactly why it should not be easily accessible. The false positive rate is too high, and breaches the presumption of innocence. (I'm not saying arrest records should not exist, though. It's very useful for the cops themselves. I'm just saying that non-cops should not have easy access to such files.)
Alternatively, we could have a perfect police which never arrests innocent people. But if we could have that, we wouldn't even need judges. Just have the cops be street judges, and let them condemn or release people on the spot.
Obviously, this would give too much power to the police. Judicial errors would soar through the roof. But this arrest record thing is exactly like that. By arresting you, they can stain your record for a long time, possibly permanently. The influence that has on your life afterwards is similar to a full blown conviction's.
Which is exactly why it should not be easily accessible. The false positive rate is too high, and breaches the presumption of innocence. (I'm not saying arrest records should not exist, though. It's very useful for the cops themselves. I'm just saying that non-cops should not have easy access to such files.)
Alternatively, we could have a perfect police which never arrests innocent people. But if we could have that, we wouldn't even need judges. Just have the cops be street judges, and let them condemn or release people on the spot.
Obviously, this would give too much power to the police. Judicial errors would soar through the roof. But this arrest record thing is exactly like that. By arresting you, they can stain your record for a long time, possibly permanently. The influence that has on your life afterwards is similar to a full blown conviction's.