Liberty's Blog

A Point about Victimless Crimes

I've struggled sometimes trying to explain why victimless crimes need to be decriminalized. Perhaps because sometimes the issues at hand are destructive. Still making things like gambling, prostitution and drug usage illegal often create more problems than they really resolve. Scott from Grits for Breakfast ever so elegantly and clearly makes the point.

Police target the businesses for petty code violations instead of for illegal gambling because they must prove the entity is not just providing entertainment. I'd think they could resolve that by just interviewing folks as they come out, but officers told the reporter it requires someone to go undercover to make a case.

The irony to me: Anyone can drive up to Shreveport or I'm sure lots of other places in Louisiana and drop quarters into slot machines until the cows come home. Who cares?

Police say they do because violent criminals target game rooms where "operators handle large amounts of cash and most patrons are female or elderly." But I think there's another reason game rooms are targeted: Because they're illegal. "In the past year, sheriff's deputies responded to 12 robberies and four shootings — three of them fatal — at gaming rooms," but anecdotal evidence indicates most crimes at gaming rooms are never reported, say police.

By comparison, there's hardly anyplace safer in America than inside a casino, there's so much security at most of them. But because Texas outlawed these machines for gambling purposes, a black market formed. So what should be a safe, consensual business relationship for gamblers becomes a dangerous and shady one.

These places are all over Texas. While they look pretty seedy, the violence from these places are a matter of record. They waste police officers time and the tax payers money while the Louisiana casinos create revenue for the state.

posted by Liberty @ 6:56 PM