You can either have your juvenile record "sealed" or "expunged" but neither is automatic.
Asking for your records to be sealed is possible a number of years after the conviction dependent on location. In most places it is 3 years of no offenses except minor traffic violations and you can request getting juvenile records sealed.
Asking for expungement is much more restricted and not even available in most locations. In the rare places expungement is possible it is a long and involved process.
Now, here is what sucks more -- getting your records sealed may seem like the obvious choice -- you don't want that shoplifting thing following you around. But, if someone pulls your record and sees "sealed" they are likely going to think you did something FAR worse than shoplifting.
Additionally, sealed records don't mean "from everyone forever" -- those suckers can pop up in adult trials if they fit a pattern, if they should apply to sentencing or just if the judge thinks they should.
Don't fuck up too much when you are kid, it will haunt you.
Fortunately most teenagers don't know about the relative benefits of being 17, but, if you decided that making an honest living was for losers and that a life of crime was worth giving a go, that year of being 17 is the best time to do some 'apprenticeship'.
Is this the case in the U.S. and Canada?
Sure, but which banks are hiring 17-year-olds as executives? ;)
This, exactly.
I don't know why so many people seem to think tougher prison sentences/three-strikes laws, etc. will deter much crime. If you're going to commit a crime, you've already convinced yourself that you're going to get away with it.
I think people like to think this way because it's so much easier than trying to solve the problems that lead to crime in the first place.
If you're interested in this topic take a look at When Brute Force Fails (http://www.amazon.com/When-Brute-Force-Fails-Punishment/dp/0...) - I found it a good take on crime in the US.
Not only that, but once you go to prison, at least in the United States, you'll likely go again. Going to prison makes you unemployable, makes you lose certain federal assistance, and leads to close contact with gangs. When you finally get out, you often won't even be able to vote, you can't find a job, and you'll probably get evicted. You're pretty much a second-class citizen at that point, worse off than you were before. If we want people to commit fewer crimes, prison should be the last resort (at least for non-violent offenders), not the first step. Better alternatives exist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recidivism#Drug-Related_Crime