Juvenile Convicts and Their Expectation of Privacy - Research Paper Example

? Juvenile Convicts and their Expectation of Privacy The issue of privacy is one that is of great concern both to the convicted and the free. Juvenile convicts are denied certain rights by law in various jurisdictions in so far as privacy is concerned. The convicts have their perceptions concerning privacy and hope to see their rights to privacy increased beyond current levels in most correction facilities. This paper presents the case of privacy as perceived by juvenile convicts. Table of Contents Juvenile Convicts and their Expectation of Privacy Introduction A juvenile is also any person under the age of eighteen and above the age of ten who is not old enough to be held responsible for criminal acts (Lawrence, 2003). In this respect, juveniles include adolescents and children who are below the age o majority. The age of majority may be determined by law more so with respect to minor crimes. However, for major crimes, a court of law may consider trying a juvenile as an adult (Lawrence, 2003). This is important a distinction given that sentencing for major offences may not only limit a young person’s life to prison for a lifetime. A convict on the other hand is a person who has been found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court of law. A convict can also be defined as any person serving a sentence in prison. Convicts are usually referred to as inmates or prisoners or simply as a “con” in slang. Juveniles who are alleged to have committed an offence may have their cases heard in juvenile courts as noted by (Karmen, (2009). Juvenile courts have different rules from those of adult criminal courts and they provide defendants with fewer rights. In many states, juveniles are denied the right to a jury trial but given the right to an attorney and appeal (Lawrence, 2003). This paper will focus on analyzing the perception of convicted juveniles regarding privacy. The research will present information regarding the history and current trends with respect to juvenile conviction and their perceptions of privacy. The research will also seek consider the diversity sensitivity and multi-cultural issues related to juvenile delinquency. History of Juvenile Conviction Juvenile delinquency and conviction is not something that is new to the world. From generation to generation, since time immemorial, young people have gotten to commit minor crimes and sometimes major crimes that warrant serious corrective or retributive measures. Among the earliest records of juvenile convicts in modern times can be traced back to the 1780s according to Horshamps (nd). The juvenile convicts in this case were set aboard the first fleet of eleven ships that sailed from Botany Bay to Plymouth, England. The total number of juvenile conflicts were 13in the 1787 trip according to Horshamps (nd). In the 1820s, Members (nd) states that there were juvenile convicts that were transported to Sydney. The some of the convicted children were children of convicted parents according to Members (nd). While female convicts were sent to work in the female factory or got married by Australian settlers, their children stayed in orphanages or with their mothers. The children convicts were sent to separate orphanages depending on their gender, records of their activities and health being taken. Juvenile male offenders were often relocated to New South Wales and trained to do certain jobs with the risk of facing a goal sentence in the event that their masters complained according to Members (nd). Many boy convicts aged between nine and 18 were relocated to Tasmania in the 1830s. This age was considered unfit for performing difficult tasks like clearing bushes, building roads and working in quarries. Girl convicts on the other hand were however sent to the female factories to be workers therein or assigned work as servants to the settlers. The issue of privacy during the periods preceding the 1830s was not a major issue with regard to convicts’ lives. Conviction of whatever kind at this time was mainly aimed at punishing offenders and sometimes their parents. Juvenile Convicts and their Views on Privacy Whilst previously conviction to delinquency rehabilitation centers was aimed at punishing the convicts outright, today that is not often the case (Wisegeek, 2011). Instead juvenile delinquents are held in correction facilities are aimed at deterring future delinquency as well as to provide present strong guidance. Privacy refers to the ability of a person or a group of people to seclude information about themselves from others (Mushlin, Kramer, and Gobert, 2008). Privacy is an individual’s right to control what happens with personal information about him or her. However, juvenile offenders do not enjoy the right to privacy. For instance in United State of America, juvenile convicts do not have Forth Amendment right to freedom from unreasonable seizures and searches. Prison warders can monitor the movements of convicts throughout prisons, watch them in their cells and carry out unwarranted searches inside the prisons (Mushlin, Kramer, and Gobert, 2008). The courts have denied convicts any rights to privacy so as to allow the prison officials to have access to their cells and personal belongings for security reasons. Therefore, juvenile convicts are always fighting for this law to be reversed and they be given the right to privacy on personal belongings and life. Another expectation that Juvenile convicts have regarding privacy is the privacy to personal information (Mushlin, Kramer, and Gobert, 2008). In most prisons around the world convicts have been denied this right with warders having access to letters sent to them or those that they send to others. For instance, in Colombia, a guard of a prison kept an eye on letters sent to a convict. He read all the letters sent by the convict’s family because there was a particular law that allowed him to do so. The juvenile convicts also expect to be allowed top keep or hide any incriminating evidence that might assist the government in obtaining a conviction about them (Mushlin, Kramer, and Gobert, 2008). However, this is usually rarely the case as most of them are usually harassed and tortured to provide this information against their will and thus convicted for the offence committed. The prisons also use technology such as surveillance cameras to collect information about the juvenile convicts (Singer, 1998). The cameras are installed in their cells and any corridors within the prison to monitor their movements. This goes against their expectation of having private life as everything they do and say is being monitored by the prison officials. This has even gone fur with some prison warders even posting this information on the internet for other people to see. The juveniles also expect to be protected from intrusion upon seclusion (Singer, 1998). However this does not happen as prison warders usually intrude upon their seclusion or solitude. The prison officials physically intrude into places where the convicts have secluded themselves and thus invade their privacy. They may also use electronic surveillance equipment including microphones, wiretaps and video cameras to invade the privacy of the juvenile convicts. The issue of cultural diversity features almost in any environment that involves people from different ethnic backgrounds. Living in a multi-cultural environment is quite demanding as there are high chances of disagreements occurring due to cultural differences. People may be engaged in conflict due to cultural characteristics such as traditions, religion, dressing, perception of morality and language. In the correction facilities, it is always common for convicts from various ethnic or cultural backgrounds to meet. With their differences playing a significant role in the harmony that exists between the convicts, there is need to ensure that cultural issues do not create disharmony in the correction facility. Convicted delinquents often find it difficult to embrace other cultures. No wonder they always wish to be kept in custody with persons with whom they share cultures and not otherwise. Assumptions Each federal government and state has its own unique laws that define the beginning and end age of juveniles. For instance, in Wyoming a juvenile is any individual under the age of 19 whereas in New York, Connecticut and North Carolina a juvenile is a person under the age of 16 (Karmen, (2009). A juvenile convict is any person is assumed to be below the age of 18 and above the age of 10 serving a sentence in prison in most jurisdictions around the globe. In many cases today, juvenile delinquency occurs among persons suffering behavioral issues or mental disorders. Some of the main culprits in this sense include bipolar disorder, conduct disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. Juveniles are often convicted to serve in correction centers once they are convicted of crimes in many states. Some of the most common juvenile correction or rehabilitation facilities today include retention in detention facilities, after-school programs and boot camps according to Wisegeek (2011). Conclusion Juveniles are persons who have not yet attained the legal age to be considered adults. The age of an individual is usually determined by a birth certificate or testimony. These age definitions are important because they are used in determining whether a young person accused of a criminal offence ill be charged with the crime in a juvenile court or will be required to appear in adult court. Like every other person, juvenile convicts need privacy. In as much as they are always held with other persons in the same facility and denied certain rights and freedoms, such convicts always demand to retain certain rights. One such right that they demand is privacy in its varied forms. References Horshamps (nd) First Fleet http://www.horshamps.vic.edu.au/FIRSTF~1.HTM Karmen A. (2009) Crime Victims: An Introduction to Victimology: Contemporary issues in crime and justice series. Cengage Learning. Lawrence V. (2003) Juvenile crime: current issues and background. Nova Publishers. Members (nd) Convicts to Australia http://members.iinet.net.au/~perthdps/convicts/res-10.html Mushlin M. Kramer D. Gobert J. (2008) Rights of prisoners, Volume 1. Shepard's/McGraw-Hill. Singer S. (1998) Recriminalizing Delinquency: Violent Juvenile Crime and Juvenile Justice Reform. Cambridge University Press, Wisegeek (2011) What Is Juvenile Rehabilitation? http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-juvenile-rehabilitation.htm Read More