Crime In Contemporary Society- Globalisation, Green Crime, Corporate Crime, State Crime And Human Rights Violation Flashcards
(27 cards)
What is globalization and its link to crime?
Globalization is the inter connectedness of the world.
1. Global crime networks Globalization has helped criminal groups work across countries, involved in things like drugs, people trafficking, weapons, money laundering, and online crime. 2. The dark side of globalization While globalization improves communication and trade, it also creates more chances for crime. Criminals use global technology to avoid the police and borders. 3. Inequality and crime Globalization increases the gap between rich and poor. Some people turn to crime because of poverty or lack of opportunity, and there is a big demand for illegal goods and services. 4. Weaker state control Governments have less control in a globalized world, especially over big companies. Criminals take advantage of this to avoid being caught. 5. Network society Castells says modern crime is organized in flexible, global networks. It’s less tied to one place and harder for police to track or stop.
What is organized crime by Glenny
- McMafia
• Glenny uses the term “McMafia” to describe the global, organized criminal networks that operate like big businesses.
• After the collapse of the Soviet Union, corrupt officials and ex-KGB agents turned to crime, helping spread global criminal networks.- Link to globalization
• These groups took advantage of global free markets, weak governments, and new international connections.
• Globalization made it easier to move people, money, and goods, including illegal ones. - Crime as a business
• Modern organized crime groups are run like multinational corporations.
• They are involved in drug trafficking, arms dealing, human trafficking, cybercrime, and more. - Corruption and weak states
• Glenny shows how weak or unstable governments, especially in Eastern Europe and the developing world, allowed organized crime to grow quickly.
- Link to globalization
What is Corporate crime?
Refers to illegal or harmful acts committed by businesses or on behalf of businesses, often for profit.
- Widespread but under-policed
• Tombs argues that corporate crime is far more common and harmful than street crime, but it is rarely investigated or punished properly.
• This is partly because corporations have money, influence, and legal power.- Causes real harm
• Corporate crimes can lead to injury, death, environmental destruction, and financial loss.
• Examples include:
• Unsafe working conditions
• Environmental pollution
• False advertising
• Tax evasion
• Selling harmful or defective products - Not just “bad apples”
• Tombs rejects the idea that corporate crime is caused by a few rogue individuals.
• Instead, he says it’s built into the system—pressure to make profits often leads companies to break the rules. - State often ignores it
• Governments may fail to regulate or punish corporations properly, especially when they rely on them for taxes, jobs, or political donations.
• This reflects class bias in the justice system, where the crimes of the rich are treated more lightly than those of the poor.
- Causes real harm
The expansion of capitalism and crime
- Global capitalism causes inequality
• As capitalism spreads, it creates job loss, poverty, and unfairness, especially for working-class people.- Crime as a reaction
• People who are excluded or struggling may turn to crime to survive or get what they can’t afford. - Greed and selfish values
• Capitalism teaches people to want money and success, even if they have to cheat or break the law to get it. - Weaker communities
• When jobs disappear and local areas decline, social bonds weaken, and crime increases.
- Crime as a reaction
What is state corporate crime?
State-corporate crime is illegal or harmful activity that happens when the state and corporations work together and either cause or fail to prevent harm.
Two types:
• State-initiated crime:
When a government directly encourages or orders a corporation to commit harmful acts.
Example: The U.S. government hiring private companies for military actions (e.g. Halliburton in the Iraq War), where profit is prioritized over safety or legality.
State-facilitated crime:
When the state fails to regulate or oversee corporate actions, allowing them to commit crimes.
Example: The U.S. government ignoring safety violations that led to the BP oil spill in 2010.
These crimes often have global effects and are hard to prosecute.
What is glocalisation?
how global criminal networks adapt to local conditions.
Global crime like drug trafficking can meet local crime like drug dealing, it shows flexible and adaptable crime networks which reject old ideas of organized crime of the mafia to fragmented small scale drugs dealers.
What is green criminology?
It is the study of environmental harm- it goes beyond traditional definitions of crime by calling harmful acts crime even if they are not illegal.
It identifies if there was such thing as green crime governments would be the worst criminals.
What is primary and secondary green crime?
🌱 Primary Green Crime
Direct harm to the environment, even if it’s legal.
• Examples:
• Cutting down forests (deforestation)
• Pollution of air and water
• Killing endangered animals
• Causing climate change
⸻
⚠️ Secondary Green Crime
Breaking laws that are meant to protect the environment.
• Examples:
• Illegal dumping of toxic waste
• Ignoring environmental rules
• Hiding pollution or accidents
• Attacking or silencing environmental activists
What is zemiology?
It is harm people cause.
Key points about Zemiology:
1. Focus on harm, not just crime
• It looks at all kinds of harm — physical, social, economic, environmental — whether or not the law calls it a crime.
2. Challenges traditional criminology
• Traditional criminology studies law-breaking, but zemiology asks: What about harmful actions that are legal?
3. Examples of social harm studied
• Pollution by companies
• Poverty caused by economic policies
• Unsafe working conditions
• Psychological harm like bullying or discrimination
4. Broader view of justice
• Zemiology encourages society to pay attention to harms that don’t get punished and to rethink what should be considered criminal or harmful.
What is risk society?
Risk society means we live in a world full of new crime risks, so there is more security and fear, but not everyone faces these risks the same way.
What are definitions of state crime?
- Herman and Julia Schwendinger (1975):
• State crime is when a government or its agents violate human rights, such as torture, genocide, or political repression.- Taylor, Walton, and Young (1973):
• State crime includes actions by governments that break laws or ethical rules, often ignored because the state is seen as legitimate. - Michalowski (1985):
• Crimes committed by the state causing harm to citizens or other states, including corruption, war crimes, and abuses of power. - Green and Ward (2004):
• State crime refers to illegal or deviant acts by state agencies, including those that break national or international laws. - McLaughlin (2007):
• State crime is illegal or harmful acts committed by, or with the support of, the state, causing harm but often going unpunished due to state power.
- Taylor, Walton, and Young (1973):
What are human rights violations?
Acts that deny people their basic rights and dignity, often carried out or allowed by powerful authorities or institutions.
- Even modern societies cause harm
• Powerful systems can treat some people unfairly, even in “civilized” countries.- Everyday actions can cause harm
• Sometimes regular people, just doing their jobs, take part in hurting others without thinking. - Some people get left out
• Groups like refugees or poor people are often ignored or treated badly, losing their basic rights.
- Everyday actions can cause harm
What is the spiral of denial?
A concept used to explain how governments or powerful groups refuse to admit wrongdoing, especially in cases of state crime or human rights violations.
First they deny the crime, next the justify it or blame others, then, they say harm was minimal, finally they delay or avoid punishment.
What is illegitimate work?
Illegitimate work refers to jobs or activities that are illegal or socially frowned upon but are done to earn money or survive.
It can be work outside of the law or social norms.
People often do it as they can’t find legitimate work.
What does Castells talk about?
Globalization
What does Glenny talk about?
Organized crime- McMafia
What does Tombs talk about?
Corporate crime
What does Taylor talk about?
The expansion of capitalism causing crime
What do Hobbs and Dunningham talk about?
Glocalisation
What does white talk about?
Green criminology
What does Winlow talk about?
Illegitimate work
What does Kramer and Michalowski talk about?
State corporate crime
What does south talk about?
Primary and secondary green crime
What does Beck talk about?
Risk society
