Victimless Crime

Victimless crime is a term that is used to refer or to explain the behavior that is illegal but does not violate or threaten the rights of anyone else. It means that one person may be involved who is the person committing the crime on his own without affecting anyone else in the process. It can also include acts in which two or more persons agree to commit a criminal offense in which no other person is involved. Sometimes in situations of victimless crimes society has grown to call these events consensual crimes. One good common example that describes victimless crimes could be considered prostitution. Prostitution is described as offering sexual favors in exchange for money and is considered a crime in many places. Both the solicitor which is the person asking for the favor or the offering, and the prostitute can be arrested for violating public decency laws. If both people involved are deemed to have committed the illegal act consensually or willingly, then neither person may be considered victims in the eyes of the law and police officials. â€Å"While prostitution may contribute to other domestic problems or personal vices, the act itself, if entered into consensually, is usually considered a victimless crime† (Liberal Democrat Party). Victimless crimes are not always so weighty or so bad in the sense that it has to be as punishable but still breaks the law. Some examples of low level victimless activities or crimes on the states eyes that may be criminalized could simply include riding a motorcycle without a helmet. In some states, for example Florida it is not illegal to do, but as for the California it is against the law to ride a motorcycle without a helmet and the person will be cited for the act. Even tho that person is not harming or endangering anyone else but his own self the law still holds it as a crime in which breaks the law. Same as Mexico, it is legal to ride in the back of a truck without seat belts or other safety harnesses but here in California it is illegal. Another example is base jumping off of buildings. this is no harm to society or anyone else but the jumpers own life. a very common example of victimless crimes which could be punished by fines or even incarceration is the individual buy and consumption of recreational drugs. Here in the United States it is against the law to smoke marijuana and yet so many people still seem to do it. The law prohibits people from doing the act even though its being consumed by the individual himself, the individual is only harming his own body but the law sees it as a violation of the constitution and its law. â€Å"The idea of a victimless crime often plays a role in the proposed repeal of certain laws, especially the criminalization of drugs, prostitution and other vices† (Halexandria). The argument that has been presented by civil libertarians is that such laws only serve to punish citizens for personal lifestyle decisions in which none of these acts violate the legal rights of others. A citizen should be allowed to buy and smoke marijuana legally because its that persons private consumption in a private home and it does not affect anyone else. Decriminalizing certain victimless crimes would reduce the prison population and take significant pressure off an overworked judicial system (Liberal Democrat Party).