Juvenile Convicts and Their Expectation of Privacy Research Paper

Juvenile Convicts and Their Expectation of Privacy - Research Paper Example 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 â€Å"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 q uarries. 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