Is It Misleading to Label a Crime as "Victimless" Essay

The term "victimless crimes" have been used to define illegal acts that have no complainant other than the police. In other words, these types of crimes are one which involves consenting adults who are of sober minds and sound judgment (Geis, n.d). Example of Victimless crimes includes; illegal gambling, drug use, prostitution, pornography, and vagrancy. However, the term "victimless" has drawn a fierce debate on whether certain crimes are victimless, and if this is the case should such crimes be repealed or substantially restricted (Heinze, 2012)? However, I believe that no crime should be termed as "victimless" as all crimes affect the common good of the people and the society directly or indirectly and should attract a punishment just as the crimes that involve victims.

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Looking at an in-depth analysis of crimes which fall in the criteria of victimless, it can be noted that some like pornography, adultery, vulgar language and drug use affect the society negatively and in most cases give way to more serious crimes (Veneziano, n.d.). Therefore, refusing to punish such crimes under the assumption that no victim was involved will only delay the inevitable chaos and human suffering (Heinze, 2012. After all, the children look at the adult members of the society to learn what is right and what is wrong, and therefore classifying a crime as victimless amounts to a denying the psychological effect and negative message that such crimes send to the young children.

The other thing why no crime should fall under the category of "Victimless" is because the law is designed to protect all citizens whether they have complained or not. In the absence of an active complainant, it does not mean that the crime was less harmful (Geis, n.d). Instead, it proves that at some point, people can be victimized without knowing that their rights have been infringed and thus the law should come to their rescue. In other cases, the law should also come to the aid of the offender to protect them from harming themselves further through their actions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, any action that falls outside the parameters of the law should be treated and termed as illegal acts. To categorize some criminal acts as Victimless crimes only seek to worsen the situation by providing leeway for the defence attorneys to get less jail sentence for the offenders. However, the term victimless should be abolished for all crimes are severe and should be met by the full forces of the laws established.

References

Geis, G. (n.d.). Victimless Crimes. Encyclopedia of Social Problems. doi:10.4135/9781412963930.n604

Heinze, E. (2012). Victimless Crimes. Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics, 471-482. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-373932-2.00260-x

Veneziano, C. A.Retrieved from https://cstl-hhs.semo.edu/cveneziano/victimless%20crimes.htm. Accessed 27 August 2018