Individual Rights Advocates & Public Order Advocates

When people are viewing the criminal justice system, they typically choose to look at the system in two ways. Some people think their individual rights are taken away in certain situations. These people are known as individual rights advocates. While others believe that for the sake of society, individual rights can be overruled. These people are known as public order advocates. These two beliefs conflict with each other because even though every person has individual rights, sometimes their rights are overlooked when thinking about public safety. Some people like the idea of public safety even if some of their rights are taken away. However, others feel violated when their rights are ignored, including in safety situations. The public order advocates main purpose is to protect society’s law abiding citizens from harm. These people believe that under certain circumstances involving a criminal threat to public safety, the interests of society should take precedence over individual rights. In my opinion, I feel that the public order advocates are more important to the overall well-being of society because I think people should have their rights overlooked when putting safety first. For example, after 9/11 security at the airport had the authority to profile certain ethnic groups and subject to body search on all individuals. Some people would say this is a violation of their individual rights. While others understand it’s for everyone’s safety. Another example where public order advocates takes precedence over individual rights is when a pedophile is released back into society his or her rights are limited due to the nature of their crime. Depending on the severity of the crime, some sex offenders have to wear a monitoring bracelet, live a certain distance from schools, and people in the neighborhood are notified when one moves in. The pedophile might think this is a violation of their individual rights but it’s only to protect the public. The individual rights advocates consist of people who seek to protect personal freedoms within the process of criminal justice. These people feel that their individual rights should not be violated under any circumstances. For example, at the airport when security is screening individuals, people feel that their privacy is being violated. An individual rights advocate views it as an assault on basic human dignity and individual liberty. These believers are more concerned about their own rights rather than the safety of society. Overall In my opinion the public order advocates are more important to the overall well-being of society. I believe this is more important because in today’s world there is a greater risk of terrorism and crime. Innocent people need to be protected even if people’s rights have to be overlooked. In all reality it is the criminal that takes away the rights and privileges of a law abiding citizen.