Crimes Against Yourself
Hi, I am not in the legal profession but signed up in a hope to get a question answered.
Can you commit a crime against yourself? Or does a crime have to have a victim?
For example, if you hit yourself with a hammer, are you assaulting yourself? and would you have to press charges against yourself for it to become a crime? You can't steal from yourself and you can't criminally damage something that you own. If I felt the urge to taste the goopy stuff in a kitchen U-bend, am I commiting a crime as it could potentially damage me? Or is the decision mine?
With personal drug use it can be said that you are supporting an illegal industry which is fair enough, as there are victims (and LOTS of them direct and indirect) and I totally agree with it, but if you supply yourself, don't harm or bother anyone else, the only 'victim' is yourself. At what point do the government take your rights as an individual and effectively become a 'nanny' for you?
Crimes Against yourself
As a criminal lawyer my answer is that under a democracy that recognises the Rule of Law, then whatever Parliament determines is a criminal offence acquires that status. There is, no doubt, a plethora of laws which people might regard as "nannying", but if they create criminal offences then any breach can bring about a criminal sanction.
I qualified in 1979 and by 1980 was specialising in criminal work and other areas of litigation I became a partner of Sarginsons in 1983. The firm converted to an LDP in April 2009 and is now Sarginson Law LLP.
Crimes Against Yourself
Thank you for your response. The jist I get from that is what Parliment says goes. Self harm and drug use (providing the drug profits aren't supporting other crime) are the only examples I could think of these 'victimless' crimes. Tax evasion hurts the government and in turn the people so there are victims. Violent crime/murder/rape etc. directly affects the victims of it as well as people close to the victim. Burglary/theft/fraud is depriving victims of their property. Disturbing the peace affects one or more victims. Descrimination has a victim. All of these laws are in place to protect people and prevent crimes happening to them. Whilst the criminality of drugs is clear, what is not so clear is self harm. In some mental health problems self harm is abundant, but is it illegal? Are the people that do this 'criminals'? How does it differ from sexual practices like S+M? and how would that differ from self medication? and how would that differ from causing health problems to yourself from excessive eating? Is there a line?