Cyber-bullying Crime - Research Paper Example

CYBER-BULLYING Cyber-bullying is a term used to define people who use technology as way to harass other people by sending mean or cruel emails and text messages, name calling in chat room and using fake profiles on social networking websites. Cyber bullying is mostly common activity among teenagers who strengthens this practice within social groups in schools and colleges. There are many types of cyber bullying like student making fun of another classmate or school fellow by making a webpage links and then spreading it so that he or she can be embarrassed in front of the whole school or college. This is also done through text messages and emails which are forwarded throughout the social circuit. Another form of cyber bullying is sexting which is getting popular with the increase in use of mobiles phones that have imbedded cameras in them. Generally this is common with girlfriends sending pictures to their boyfriends via multimedia messages. But what these teenage girls do not realize is that there are legal implications to this. After break ups these boyfriends can use these pictures to blackmail or embarrass the sender. Cyber bullying is a psychological disturbing form of social cruelty among young people (Jaishankar 2011). Cyber bullying is increasing at a high rate with the increase in the use of technology like cell phones and computers. The ways in which bullying can take place are also increasing because young children who have access to technology invent various ways to harass other young children. Social networking sites also give a forum to these cyber bullies as it is a safe medium through which they can easily commit the crime of cyber bullying without the fear of being caught by the other person. In spite of all this social networking websites cannot be held accountable for any kind of hate speech that is posted on their websites. Cyber bullying has increased the number of suicides committed by teenage boys and girls. Some of these youngsters cannot take in the embarrassments and harassments they are being subjected to and hence fall prey to this act. The mention of cyber bullying now brings about a debate of how strongly governments should act against cyber bullying and whether new acts of laws be implemented against it or not as most of the culprits involved are juvenile. Many states in America have already implemented laws against cyber bullying. The state of Missouri had no made against the crime of cyber bullying until the suicide of a 13 year old girl Megan Meier in 2006. It was then that the state realized that it cannot persecute the culprit because cyber bullying was not against the law at that time. It was after this incident that Missouri legislature and governor passed a new law that cyber bullying is unlawful harassment by electronic means of communication. This new law also requires the schools and colleges to make a written policy to report any such harassment, which includes not only cyber bullying but other kinds of felonies as well like stalking, to the local police. Now this crime is a class A misdemeanor. According to this new law the act of cyber bullying remains a class A misdemeanor unless 1) committed by a person twenty-one years of age or older against a person seventeen years of age or younger; or 2) the person has previously committed the crime of harassment (“Internet law-Missouri Governor signs cyber-bullying bill into law”. Web. 2008). After the case of Megan Meier, Missouri was not the only state that took this under consideration and made new laws in order to prevent people from getting harassed in this way. Under this law the offender is penalized if he or she is caught harassing or recklessly frightening an underage. Cyber bullying is a crime which is generally committed by young people mostly teenagers, and are committed against teenagers as well. The under eighteen children come under the juvenile category so are tried more leniently then the adults. The laws for juvenile offenders are much different than the ones for adults. We hear news about heinous crimes being conducted every day by adults like rape, murder, assault et cetera. But there are also many children who conduct criminal acts like hurting or killing other people, for example fights between teenagers in school over petty issues, some teenagers kill other just because they are jealous of them; some kid goes in the street and shoots a man as a part of gang initiation. This happens every day all around us but believing it is a little hard. Without the threat of punishment people may carry their actions much further than they really should (Kowalski, Robin, Limber & Agatston 2008). Now, if we talk about the punishments and the way they are punished is very interesting because sometimes the punishments they get are way lighter then what they actually deserve. In the case of an adult committing a crime of murder or any other crimes mentioned above, he or she would be punished severely and would not be sympathized by the jurors or the judge. But if a murder or any other crime is committed by a juvenile, the case is judged more leniently. A lot of things are considered before a verdict is passed against an underage criminal. Every issue concerning the life of the juvenile offender is taken under consideration, like for example in which environment they are raised in, whether or not the juvenile is going through emotional problems, whether they come from a broken family or a single parent, if their family members have a history of going to jail or have criminal records and whether or not the juvenile was in his or her right state of mind when the crime was committed. Juvenile offenders are not sent to proper jails but instead are sent to facilities which are more like rehabilitation centers for these youngsters. In here they are taught how to mend their former ways and go about being normal. Many of the juvenile offenders are released from these facilities when they reach the age of twenty one. There are no tensions of being sentenced to life imprisonment or giving a death penalty. At the age of twenty one the offender is still young to go ahead with his or her life normally. There are proper set ups made by the government in order to help these youngsters in finding work and arrangements for a place to live in. Different people have different opinions about how these young offenders should be punished or whether the punishments which are currently given to them are adequate enough. Some people think that the way these children are punished is not enough and that they should be treated more rigidly just like adults. They think these young offenders are not punished according to their crime, no matter how serious the crime is they are not charged accordingly. The point is that how these juveniles are supposed to learn from their mistakes when their mistakes are treated in such a light manner. Nowadays, a large number of children are following the wrong examples and committing, some of them have genuine family issues that pushes them towards wrong acts, but, others simply have no excuse for committing certain crimes. Many of the juvenile offenders who are released from these facilities go back to their previous environments and start doing criminal acts all over again. There should not be a difference in the punishment of an adult and a juvenile. They should be punished equally so that the outcomes are also the same. In some states juvenile offenders are sentenced to a fixed term of incarceration that must be served fully. Some other states have passed some laws which have made mandatory sentences for some crimes. (Siegel, Larry & Welsh 2011). Cyber bullying is a huge crime but some people still do not consider it that big a problem. This is a proper crime that comes under the harassment act because it is used as a nuisance for others. If cyber bullying is not criminalized people would get a free hand in harassing their victims. The law passed against this act will help save lives of many people who are victims of this practice. The problem of cyber bullying is a very serious one because so many people are affected by this every single day. Everybody have their rights and one of the primary rights of every human being is to feel safe and content in their surroundings. These actions against cyber bullying should be supported worldwide so that this menace can be stopped. Bibliography Siegel, Larry J, and Brandon Welsh. Juvenile Delinquency: The Core. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2011. Kowalski, Robin M, Sue Limber, and Patricia W. Agatston.Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub, 2008. IBLS Editor. Internet law-Missouri Governor signs cyber-bullying bill into law. IBLS, July 14 2008. Jaishankar, K. Cyber Criminology: Exploring Internet Crimes and Criminal Behavior. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2011 Read More