What type of crimes are sometime refered as victimless crimes?

Answer 1

Because in a "victimless" crime there isn't oneparticular victim, everyone in the community is a victim in some small part, or the victim is unknown. Example: A man sees a hooker working a street corner and offers to pay this adult woman for sex. That's prostitution. There is no victim. Both people are willing participants. Or you could say that the "victim" is all the people in soceity who have good morals and who are offended that this sort of thing goes on.

Another example: Let's say the law says you cannot possess a gun with an altered or defaced (scrached-off) serial number. You are found with such a gun in your vehicle, and you are arrested. Who is the victim? The gun you have is almost certainly stolen, but we will probably never know who the victim of the theft was. So we call this a "public order crime" because it's closely related to criminal activity.

Another View: the firearm violation referred to above is NOT a valid example of a "public order' offense. Probably the two most cited examples of 'public order' offenses are 'Disorderly Conduct" and Public Drunkenness.' Again, there isn't any one specific victim but society as a whole is cheapened and devalued by such public displays. Hence, they are crimes against the "public order."

Answer 2

Some might argue whether the phrase is correct, but it refers to laws prohibiting activities which primarily hurt the person doing it - drugs, prostitution, gambling