Courts continually condone the availability and use of arrest records in police work. Even in cases resulting in acquittal or dismissal, courts often hold that arrestees are not entitled to a return of their arrest records. The records are therefore often inaccurate indicators of criminality. Law enforcement agencies persist in using arrest records to determine probable cause for an arrest despite empirical findings that prior arrests are poor indicators of current criminality. Three alternatives to this policy are workable. Records with arrests but no convictions could be expunged. A time limit could be placed on the maintenance of active arrest files, and the availability of arrest records could be restricted within police departments. The efficacy of these alternatives must be established with longitudinal studies which track the field exercise of discretion and distinguish the influence of prior arrest record from other situational determinants of the use of discretion. 86 footnotes.