A secret list of children believed to be "susceptible to crime" is being kept at the sheriff's office in Pasco County in Florida.

Tampa Bay Times was the first to report on the issue, stating that the list was based on the children's academic records, school attendance, and disciplinary problems.

The sheriff's office obtained the school children's academic information from the school district. They also looked for information on whether the children bore witness to any household violence through Florida's Department of Children and Families.

As per the offices' internal manual, these children are susceptible to criminal behavior, said Daily Caller. So a child can get on the list for being exposed to abuse or simply having grades ranging from D to F.

According to Daily Mail, there are some 400 children on the "potential criminal" list. 

Read also: More Than 1 Million American Children Diagnosed With COVID-19

Parents of these children are completely unaware that their children's academic standing could lead them to the list. There is no indication of whether a child is on the list.

Even superintendent Kurt Browning was not aware that the list existed, along with two high school principals from Pasco County. But as per emails obtained by the Times, it was last updated in October. 

A Question of School Children's Privacy

The list was immediately met with backlash, particularly by civil liberties groups concerned about how the list was formulated in the first place.

The records that the sheriff's department scoured from middle and high schools were very sensitive information protected by state and federal law.

It all boiled down to the issue of privacy, especially with matters that are as delicate as abuse among school children. 

Read also: Parents of 666 Migrant Children Separated at Border Can't Be Found

Linnette Attai, a consultant in helping schools and companies comply with student privacy laws, was among those who disapproved of the list.

"Can you imagine having your kid in that county and they might be on a list that says they may become a criminal?" she said.

Harold Jordan, a senior policy advocate for the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, also said the list would be a "recipe for violating people's rights and civil liberties."

It was quite disappointing news for many, considering it was reported on the eve of the 66th anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

Police Defends List as 'Helping' Deputies

In a written statement, the police defended the list to help deputies assigned to schools offering "mentorship" and "resources" to students.

An example of these mentorship programs includes school resource officers who take students fishing.

They also insisted that they have been getting the data from school districts as a practice dating back 20 years. They said it is being used to keep school campuses safe.

The police added that only a juvenile intelligence analyst and the school resource officers are given access to the data and the list of students. But the matter still didn't sit well with law professor Andrew Guthrie Ferguson of American University.

He said the police are "not in the business of offering help to juveniles" and are instead supposed to work on their business of policing.