Community-oriented policing, an organizational philosophy and management approach which has been effective in promoting community, government, and police partnerships, is often considered one of the most valuable ways to minimize both criminal activity and fear of crime in the community through proactive problem solving. However, the implications of the approach in dealing with “victimless” crime need some clarifications.
It has been maintained that the victimless crimes need not essentially be victimless and there are also views suggesting that the role of the law needs to be restricted. One of the major factors relating to the “victimless” crimes has been that they are considered a misnomer. In this investigative paper, the focus has been the identification of why “victimless” crimes may be a misnomer, analyzing the specific “victimless” crime of prostitution.
In an analysis of prostitution as a “victimless” crime, it is primary to maintain that there is an ongoing debate over the classification of the crime into the “victimless” crimes. To avoid an erroneous conclusion on the question of prostitution, it is fundamental to understand a “victimless” crime as a crime committed by an adult, not by a minor, who does not regard themselves as the victims of their behavior. Prostitution and the related offenses form the major part of the crimes observed as “victimless” crimes.
To have a clearer view, prostitution may be understood, as Joel Samaha puts it, as “an ancient business, prospering at all cultures at all times no matter what the condemnation of religion and morals. It’s also a crime nearly everywhere in the United States, persisting no matter how severe the laws or how tough the efforts of police to enforce them.” (p 456, Criminal Law, by Joel Samaha, Published by Thomson Wadsworth, 2004) To evaluate the crime of prostitution in terms of wrongness, it is unquestionable that prostitution is a practice that can permanently harm the good interest of the community and thereby it is a wrong done not the individuals concerned alone but the entire people residing in the community.
There have been multiple perspectives that view the problem of prostitution and public sexual activities differently. Whereas some do not believe the behavior of prostitution as composing a major public safety threat, others view the behavior as a “victimless crime” involving two consenting partners. Yet another group considers the behavior as a chief threat to the community’s “moral decency.” Prostitution and related sexual offenses and behaviors have significantly negative connotations to many people and often moral overtones encompass public discussions about the issue. “Community morals and beliefs about how the law should regulate morality will affect how each community addresses the problem…
Primarily, such activity constitutes nuisance behavior and does not pose a serious threat to community safety. However, there are many reasons why the police should care about it.” (Illicit Sexual Activity in Public Places, by Kelly Dedel Johnson) Some of the reasons for the intervention of the police include facts such as prostitution and public sexual activity can offend inadvertent witnesses, they deter the legitimate use of public spaces, they may cause the spread of sexually transmitted diseases etc. Therefore, the role of the police in the prevention social crimes such as prostitution is often maintained.
In the background of the demands for the intervention of the police to maintain social good against the evils such as prostitution, the usefulness of community-oriented policing comes to question. As Michael Palmiotto suggests, “The key question about community policing is whether it will produce safer communities.” (p 195, Community Policing: A Policing Strategy for the 21st Century, By Michael Palmiotto, Published by Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2000) Although there is no definitive answer to the question as for now, some anecdotal evidences suggest the value of community policing in the maintenance of peace and safety of the people.
Attempts to perceive prostitution as a “victimless” crime calls for the intervention of the services such as community-oriented policing. However, there has been a strong intuition that prostitution and other “victimless” crimes are a misnomer and the laws to check such crimes are ineffective. “Laws to prevent “victimless” crimes generally have nothing to do with right or wrong, and are enacted in order to generate revenue for the government and/or justice system, and primarily, to condition the population into conformity.” (Crime and Punishment).
There have been serious debates on the deliberation of prostitution as one of the “victimless crimes.” People who advocate for strong legal action against prostitution are concerned of personal propriety or religious objection and not sympathy for the people involved. The value of the law against the “victimless crime” of prostitution has been often raised and various factors contribute to make the “victimless crimes” is considered misnomer. “That crimes such as drug use and prostitution have to be labeled “victimless” brings forth one of the most telling arguments: most people likely to be harmed by these acts suffer more under the law than they would under that from which they are supposedly being protected.” (Michael Norwitz – “Victimless-Crime Laws”).
In conclusion, it is important to establish that community-oriented policing has great validity in reducing the criminal activity as well as fear of crime in the community. On the one hand, it is argued that community-oriented policing may be effectively used in the prevention of the “victimless” crimes such as prostitution. On the other, there are serious debates regarding the postulation of prostitution as a “victimless” crime. Prostitution, often regarded as a “victimless” crime, has serious implications in terms of wrongness and the role of the law to deal with this crime is complex.
Bibliography
p 456, Criminal Law, by Joel Samaha, Published by Thomson Wadsworth, 2004.
Illicit Sexual Activity in Public Places, by Kelly Dedel Johnson). Web.
p 195, Community Policing: A Policing Strategy for the 21st Century, By Michael Palmiotto, Published by Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2000.
Crime and Punishment. Web.
Michael Norwitz – “Victimless-Crime Laws”. Web.