Social Crime

Social Crime

This author’s definition of Social Crimes seems to be summed up in the very first sentence, “Every society has generally accepted rules of conduct for its members.” The author then goes on to state “Many of these are what some refer to as “victimless” crimes.” Is there any such thing as victimless crimes? Some say yes and some say no.

Prostitution for example has usually been described as victimless. Exploring that, we see a college girl needing some money for books, so she sells the use of her body for a short time for money. She buys the books and go off to study for the term. These two people just completed a business transaction; no diseases were transmitted so this would seem to be victimless. What if he gave her a disease or she gave him a disease, now we have a victim, the one who did not have the disease previously. They both knew full well this could happen and were well aware of the risks, therefore this is still victimless.

Now this girl becomes pregnant so she obtains an abortion. Now is there a victim? Yes there is, the child that was murdered. The child sometimes referred to as a zygote or a fetus is no longer.

Now what if this girl is owned by a pimp, and she must give him the money she received for safe keeping. This time it is no longer a victimless crime. The girl is a victim because she is performing against her will. Her natural rights as a human have been violated because she is a slave to the pimp for whatever reason she joined him.

If we outlaw prostitution, then we outlaw the very right to our own body. We also victimize the girl a second time, instead of the pimp, because it is easier to get a conviction of the victim.

(Davenport. Basic Criminal Law: The Constitution, Procedure, and Crimes, 2nd Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions 11.11).