Law, Justice, and Society: A
Sociolegal Introduction
Chapter 10
The Limits of Social
Control: Policing Vice
Policing Vice
what is a vice crime?
any consensual act that offends the moral
standards of the community that has defined
the act as worthy of condemnation and legal
control
also referred to as victimless crime, public
order offense, nuisance offense, or
consensual offense
Policing Vice
Vice Crime and the Harm Principle
vice crimes are consensual--there is
participation because of reward or pleasure
although all vice offenses cause some harm
there is much debate regarding
decriminalization and enforcement of vice
crimes
Policing Vice
Homosexuality and Sodomy
 sodomy: anal sex between two men or a man and a woman
 1869 marked the beginning of the focus on the actors
(homosexuals seen as a distinct group of individuals) rather
than the act (sodomy)
 homosexuals experienced label of diseased, were penalized
and subjected to shock treatment and castration
 today homosexuality is considered a variant of human
sexuality and is biological
 in 2003 eighteen states still had laws forbidding consensual
sodomy
Policing Vice
Prostitution and Commercialized Vice
 prostitution: the provision of sexual services in exchange
for money or other tangible reward
 earliest writings regarding prostitution are contained in
Hammurabi’s Code; prostitution has been considered
throughout American history as a “necessary evil”
should prostitution be decriminalized/legalized?
decriminalization: the removal of laws against
prostitution without imposing regulatory controls on it
legalization: prostitution becomes a legitimate
occupation, and the state can regulate and tax
Policing Vice
Pornography and Obscenity
 pornography: the depiction of sexual behavior in pictures,
writing, film, or other material intended to cause sexual arousal
 obscenity: the legal term for any subcategory of pornography
that is not constitutionally protected, such as child pornography
 Hicklin test: the guiding common law principle: “The law can
ban anything that depraves and corrupts those whose minds are
open to such immoral influences.”
 Miller test: reaffirmed that obscenity is not protected speech. To
be obscene, the material must (1) appeal to interests of average
person, (2) describe sexual activity in offensive way, (3) lack
serious literary, artistic, scientific, or political value.
Policing Vice
Abortion
 abortion: the intentional termination of a pregnancy by the removal
or expulsion of an embryo/fetus from the uterus resulting in its
death
 attitudes toward abortion have fluctuated across the centuries. The
first laws regarding abortion were found in the Code of Hammurabi.
 Roe v. Wade: U.S. Supreme Court gave women the right to
unlimited access to abortion in the first trimester, allowed states to
regulate abortion in second trimester, and prohibited it in the third
trimester unless health was at risk
 Doe v. Bolton: Supreme Court ruled that a woman may obtain an
abortion after viability only if it is necessary to protect her health
Policing Vice
Abortion
in 1995 56 percent of Americans
considered themselves pro-choice, while
33 percent considered themselves pro-life
by 2009 more Americans considered
themselves pro-life (47 percent) than prochoice (46 percent)
Policing Vice
Alcohol and Illicit Drugs
 alcohol is most directly linked to crime; at least 70
percent of all American prison inmates and 60 percent
of British inmates are alcohol and/or drug addicted
 fetal alcohol syndrome: neurological disorder in infants
resulting from mothers drinking while pregnant,
resulting in identifiable physical abnormalities and
behavioral symptoms (linked with high levels of
antisocial behavior and criminal offending)
 prevalence of 1 percent of all live births in the United
States
Policing Vice
Alcohol
Prohibition: Eighteenth Amendment
prohibited the production, sale,
transportation, or importation of alcoholic
beverages in the United States (also
known as Volstead Act)
Twenty-first Amendment repealed the
Eighteenth Amendment
Policing Vice
Illicit Drugs
only vice addressed in the chapter that is not
currently legal or tolerated
many addictive substances were used in drinks
or medicines, such as Coca-Cola and Cocaine
Toothache Drops
attitudes changed as doctors came to
understand the addictive powers of such
substances
Policing Vice
Illicit Drugs (cont.)
Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914: addict was
no longer viewed as a middle-class victim
but rather as a criminal deviant using
drugs for pleasure. Reduced the number
of addicts but increased black market
operations and ultimately more addicts.
Policing Vice
Illicit Drugs (cont.)
 intimately related to criminal activity (75 percent of all male and
female arrestees test positive for at least one drug)
 the link between drugs and crime is largely driven by their illegality,
not by their pharmacological effects
 there have been no Supreme Court cases challenging the states’
right to criminalize illicit drugs, which indicates an overall
agreement that the manufacture and sale of such substances are
morally wrong and cause harm
 harm-reduction programs aim to minimize harm caused by drug use
through efforts such as syringe exchange programs, methadone
treatment, and decriminalization. United States rejects harmreduction programs