As Williamsport and Lycoming County debate juvenile crime and misbehavior, we must remind the public how difficult it is to understand how extensive or not these problems can be.

Juvenile court records are sealed — unlike our reporting on felonies and misdemeanors for which adults are prosecuted, officials are prohibited from releasing the affidavits, sentencing reports and other documentation that sheds light on crimes in our region committed by adults.

Thus, details about crimes committed by juveniles — regardless of whether neighbors are concerned about the teenagers circling their blocks or people on social media become fixated on one alleged incident or another — escape the public’s attention.

This isn’t a cover-up or a conspiracy, but public policy borne of transparent debate by lawmakers that has survived for generations.

There is a part of us that wishes our reporting could better examine the extent to which these problems are worse today than 30, 20 or even 10 years ago.

But, the sealing of criminal proceedings against juveniles serves a purpose — Pennsylvania clearly has never been comfortable about exerting the same level of public scrutiny and shame when perpetrators are young and at the point when their chances of turning their lives around are at their greatest.

While we can accept there is merit to this, we must also caution the public — our goal isn’t to sensationalize crime but to report accurately on our courts and on public safety.

Accuracy will always include reporting similarly on similar crimes. Were Pennsylvania’s legislators ever to change the law and we were to decide to cover the filing, conviction and sentencing of juvenile defendants, our goal would remain to offer comprehensive coverage.

While the perimeters of understanding juvenile crime are different than simply reporting on or reading about the cases filed in our local courts and the sentences rendered upon convictions, we will continue to explore how to get the most complete picture of what is confronting our communities that we can.