About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

10 Issues Criminology 126 (1975)
Victimless Crimes: Two Sides of a Controversy - Edwin M. Schur and Hugo Adam Bedau

handle is hein.journals/iscrim10 and id is 132 raw text is: ISSUES IN CRIMINOLOGY VICTIMLESS CRIMES: TWO SIDES OF A CONTROVERSY. Edwin M. Schur and Hugo Adam Bedau. Spectrum, 1974, 146 pp., $2.75 Reviewer: Peter Maida Victimless Crimes: Two Sides of a Controversy is written in four parts. The two main sections of the book consist of first, the sociolo- gist's view in which Schur discusses some of the relevant issues in the case for the decriminalization of victimless crimes and second, the phi- losopher's view an analysis of the concept of victimless crimes about which Bedau states that: My purpose ... has been only partly to at- tack overcriminalization and the legislation of morality (p. 101). In addition Bedau also tries . . . to show that the concept of victimless crimes has theoretically unsatisfactory features which make it a less than perfect analytical category in terms of which to assess a variety of political, scientific, and moral questions related to the issue of decrimi- nalization (p. 101). The remainder of the book consists of the brief response by Schur to what Bedau has written and an equally brief response by Bedau to the position taken by Schur in his main essay as well as a counter-response to Schur's critique of his position. There are three general issues in Victimless Crimes which this re- viewer has chosen to form the basis of the critique of the book. These issues are central to a consideration of the decriminalization of victim- less crimes and as such demand attention. Throughout the book a great deal of the discussion is devoted to the definition of victimless crimes or to problems accompanying one definition or another. While there is an attempt to demonstrate how various crimes may differ, there is also the traditional pursuit of at- tempting to resolve their differences. The need is established for a historical analysis of the development of the definitions of victimless crime but neither author pursues this goal with any rigor. A historical analysis would put in proper context contemporary discussions of the range of behaviors called crimes without victims. On page 44 of the book Schur states: The range of possible alternatives to current poli- cies regarding the various behaviors considered in this essay is substan- tial, and the issues pertaining to them are complex and variable. Schur also concludes his response to Bedau's essay with the statement: No analysis, however principled, that fails to consider the social context within which these laws operate, can hope to do 'justice' to the diverse facets of the victimless crime controversy (p. 121). On page 134 Bedau suggests: In my view, the entire case for decriminalization and all calculations of social cost and benefit are bottomed on an acknowl- 126 VOL. 10, NO. 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most