VICTIMLESS CRIMES

Victimless Crimes

Victimless Crimes

Introduction

Victimless crimes are those crimes that are illegal, but, there is no identifiable victim. Victimless crimes can fall into a number of categories, including crimes without a clear victim, moral crimes, crimes against the state, or activities where the victim and the perpetrator could be considered the same person. In all cases, the government deems an activity a crime for social, safety, or health reasons, but it does not have an identifiable victim who experiences harm as a result of a perpetrator's actions. Some legislation pertaining to such crimes is controversial, and in some regions, reformers work to dismantle laws they feel are unfair or unnecessary. This paper discusses the victimless crimes and why are they controversial.

Victimless Crimes

The term victimless crime was conceived by Edwin Schur of Tufts University, during his British drugs policies dissertation in 1965. The term precedent in the law of Anglo-American that included “sumptuary laws,” which prohibited the individuals belonging to low social status to get dressed in elegant attire. Likewise, the drunk driving crime does not have any involvement of a victim yet, as it increases the probability of an accident which is why it is considered as a victimless crime. These crimes can also include financial cost, which is borne, by innocent taxpayers (Schur & Bedau, 1974). For example, if a motorcyclist who is uninsured is not wearing a helmet gets involve in an accident and suffer injuries for which he/she cannot afford the medical costs or when a motorcyclist without a helmet is struck on the head by a stone in the roadway and loses control of the vehicle, killing or maiming motorists on the same highway. Drug use, failing to exercise safety precautions, prostitution, gambling, and other activities that could place people in danger are also victimless crimes in the sense that they expose the victim to risk, but not anyone else.

The victimless crimes have always sparked a debate and are considered as a controversial issue. Some advocates propose taking these victimless crimes out of the law books because they involve legislating personal behavior. These are among the most contentious victimless crimes as some evidently do cause social harms; drug use, for example, can contribute to the development of violence as well as situations like driving under the influence and putting other people in danger (Schur, 1965). Likewise, prostitution may involve human trafficking and other harmful activities.

Why are the ...