Right to privacy..??

BillyBoy13

OK, Ive got my hands up, Ive been watching a lot of American movies lately :P

But Im just wondering. In Irish jails- mountjoy for example. Can a prisoner have private conversations with family/friends or is there always going to be a guard listening in to make sure he's not telling the person/giving orders (i.e. continuing to direct his criminal empire from behind bars).

I'm kinda torn on the matter. Every criminal (yes even John Gilligan) should be able to have a private conversation with his mother/father/wife etc to hear about how everyones keeping, how the kids are doing at school, is anyone sick etc But then again its very easy to abuse these private "family chats" and use them to continue on with your criminal empire.

Carawaystick

I'm interested in this also.
Watching american drama's where convicted criminals have to talk to visitors through a glass partition on phones. Knowing now how the nsa/mi6 record so many phone calls, how are these prison visit calls not recorded.
Especially as the alternative of drilling a few holes in the glass seems much less likely to be bugged...

Article in today's IT about Ms D'Arcy in Limerick jail having a screw listening into every visitor's conversation.

Santa Cruz

Carawaystick wrote: »

I'm interested in this also.
Watching american drama's where convicted criminals have to talk to visitors through a glass partition on phones. Knowing now how the nsa/mi6 record so many phone calls, how are these prison visit calls not recorded.
Especially as the alternative of drilling a few holes in the glass seems much less likely to be bugged...

Article in today's IT about Ms D'Arcy in Limerick jail having a screw listening into every visitor's conversation.

Should we be making exceptions for her? She can leave anytime she wants. But if her principles are so precious then she has to stay and abide by prison regulations

ElleEm

Some prisons have visits over a bench with a twelve inch barrier so hands can't be held/ nothing passed through etc. I saw these in Mountjoy. Some have perspex barriers with holes in them. There may be a couple of Gardai sitting or walking up and down behind the prisoners but I doubt they hear every word. I could imagine that if they thought the prisoner was dangerous that they would pay more attention to his/ her conversations and maybe supervise them closer. I know all letters are read too. I don't know about phone calls.

Manach

Offhand there was an old case in which there was a legal privlege of confidentially (which I'd guess could be extended to privacy) between a prisoner and their lawyer. However if this is supposed to be illegal purpose, ie witness intimidation, this is right is deem void.

Peregrinus

It depends on the prisoner's security status, and on the general level of the prevailing security alert at the prison.

Most of the time, most prisoners meet family and friends in a comparatively relaxed environment - they can hold hands, kiss, pick up their children, etc. Meetings take place in a large room with no physical barriers. Prison officers are present, but they aren't "hovering"; they stay some distance away. It's not private, though - there are usually several prisoners meeting their families at the same time in the same room.

There are, of course, prisoners who do not have this freedom all of the time, and some who never have it. More secure facilities for visiting are available, up to and including secure facilities where prisoner and visitor are separated by laminated glass, and they talk over telephones - just like you've seen on the telly!