Crimes against Public Order and Morals - Essay Example

Crimes against Public Order and Morals

This study examines different acts that are considered criminal within the perspective of public order and morals. Importantly, some of these acts are majorly based on common law, though some of them have undergone series of changes. The debate about crimes against public order and morals begs to put forth the understanding of a crime within the realm of public order, and the domains of moral standards. Essentially, it is worth noting that something is considered an offense when it disobeys the moral values, which indeed defines what is right or wrong in the public order. Every state in the United States of America, as well as the federal government, maintains a body of criminal laws that every member living in such regions must observe. For instance, prostitution was generally practiced indoors and tolerated in the colonial America, while on the other hand, streetwalkers were considered offenders and charged under vulgarity. Today, prostitution is illegal in every part of the United States of America. With that example, it is then imperative to point out that a crime is an act that obstructs the operations of the society, more so the ability of people to function properly. In other words, a behavior is labeled criminal if it violets the shared norms, customs, and social values.

Different Sets of Crime That Disobey Order and Morals

Disorderly Conducts

Just as has been indicated herein, certain behaviors are considered criminal due to their tendency to disturb the peace, threaten as a sense of morality or create a public nuisance, for instance, there are crimes, which are grouped as disorderly conducts. According to the Free Dictionary (2013), these activities disturb the public peace, morals or decency. Even though every state has a specific definition of what is considered disorderly, they all stem from the common law and its goal of punishing any act of breaching the peace. For instance, Virginia Code § 18.2-415, an individual is considered guilty when he or she does something with an intention to disrupt peace, create annoyance or alarm. Any person in the public place who creates an impression of violence is culpable of punishment under this law. An individual or a group of people can do disorderly conducts. If a group of people does it, then it is called rioting. According to Virginia Code § 18.2-405, rioting is an act of two or more people who engage in activity that create mayhem and disturbs public safety and peace (Encyclopedia.com, 2005). There are also segments of the law that punish the conspirators of riots as well as the premises in which these riots take place. It is important to state that public indecency is a crime, which is observed within the scope of diminishing the quality of life of the people living in the area that it is carried. The laws or statutes that seek to limit such as aimed at creating public order, while improving the quality of life of the people who live there.

Vagrancy

The law against this crime seeks to punish the individuals that wander about in the public places without any activity that add value to their lives and the society. This is also in line with the crime of loitering, where an individual stands in a public place without any apparent tenacity or will to do anything significant. These laws are aimed at discouraging gang activities, which have been a greater challenge for law enforcement in the major cities in the United States of America. Virginia Code § 18.2-46.2 prohibits gang activities and stipulates that anybody who actively involves in a street gang, or knowingly and willfully associates with any criminal gang is guilty before the law (Encyclopedia.com, 2005). Gang activities have disrupted the peace of many Americans, and also caused the death of many people. The law seeks to discourage such activities with the strongest terms possible.

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act of an individual offering him or herself for sex to get money. It is punishable as a misdemeanor, although cases like paraphilia are considered highly bizarre. For example, an activity such as Voyeurism or pedophilia, where one advances sexual desires towards children is highly uncalled for in the society. It is even worse when someone engages in sexual activity with an intention of infecting another person. In fact, there have been cases where some people lure others into sex to infect them with HIV/AIDS. Additionally, prostitution was thought to be an activity of women alone before the year 2000, but it later came to the public limelight that both men and women practice prostitution in different parts of the world. According to studies, people who involved in prostitution do so voluntarily. There are different types of prostitution in the United States, but streetwalkers are considered highly dangerous. Virginia Code § 18.2-346 stipulates that anybody who commits adultery with an intention to earn money is guilty before the law (Encyclopedia.com, 2005). Similarly, any act of fornication done to earn any reward would be considered as prostitution and thus punishable by the act of 18.2-361.

Obscenity

This is a crime, generally associated with a form of speech, which goes against the dictates of the freedom of speech as contained in the law. People are allowed by the constitution to exercise the freedom of speech, but that speech should not undermine the dignity of other people or spun violence. Today, the law pursues the offenders who make reckless statements over the media for obscenity. According to Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-104, Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 56, the criminal punishment is waged against any individual for the spread of obscenity through cyberspace (The Free Dictionary, 2013). Reckless talks are discouraged in different public places including places of worship. Heresies and excommunications are not encouraged unless they are accompanied with sufficient reason to do so. People are required to tame what they say in public spaces to ensure that their utterances do not affect other people’s well-beings. The government has different agencies that censure the political talks for both the leaders and the citizens to ensure that they do not spark hatred and violence.

Trade, Business, and Professions

The law also takes care of dishonesties in trade, business, and professions. The federal law discourages theft, fraud, and parody. For instance, intellectual property acts discourage reproducing or using other people’s ideas without acknowledging them. The law against intellectual property prohibits students from engaging in plagiarism, and any act of the same is punishable by every institution and would lead to one being jailed and his or her certificates being revoked (Tran, 2016). The procedures of engaging in any online or offline business are well spelled out in the constitution, and anybody who violates such is liable to punishment in the court of law. All these are sought to encourage public trust and fair engagement in any business activity. Today, there are laws that target cybercrimes, which is marred with hackers who fraudulently enter to people’s databases to access confidential data. People have lost a lot of money due to hackers who access their valuable information and use them to carry out fraud.

Offenses against the Family

The law equally has provisions that protect the members of the family. Some members of the family might be violent against the others, and thus, the law is never silent about their rights. For instance, the law is against child abuse, and in this precept, any member of the family who physically or mentally abuses the child must be punished by law. Similarly, spousal abuse is discouraged and punishable by law (Shelters Emergency2005). A man or a woman should not advance any physical or mental abuse to his or her spouse. Every parent is obliged to provide all the necessary support to his or her children as provided for by the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. In fact, a divorcee who escapes with a child without the proper consultation would be convicted of abduction. Therefore, every member of the family is given sufficient protection against any harm that might occur even during points of disagreements.

Conclusion

It is inferentially important to point out that the government through different statutes seeks to maintain order and morality in the society. These laws target every sphere of life to ensure that people live with harmony and tranquility. Just as has been highlighted in this study, different states might have a distinctive approach to ensuring these rules are applicable to the common laws. Importantly, something is considered an offense when it disobeys the moral values, which indeed defines what is right or wrong in the public order. The crimes discussed in this paper are examined within the scope of interpersonal relationships within families and other areas like business, church, and other social places. Additionally, the law protects people regardless of their social and economic status. It also protects the professionals and the business people who undertake their activities both online and offline. As a result, this study is significant in high pointing the different ways of applying the law to maintain order and morality in the society.