GLOBALISATION AND CRIME

The globalisation process refers to the interconnectedness of societies and how cultural barriers are broken due to the influence of the media and technology. Thus the world is able to be socialised about major crimes that threaten societies. Below are some examples of key terms that are important to remember:

Cyber Crimes- Crimes that occur through technology such as identity theft or child pornography.

Green Criminology- This is the study of crimes against the environment.

Green Crimes- This is crimes that are against the environment. (Pollution)

State Crimes- These are illegal or deviant acts perpetrated by government controlled institutions or state agencies.

Zermiology- This is the study of harms to society and why some harms are socially constructed as crimes where as others are not.

CASTELLS (GLOBAL CRIMINAL ECONOMY)

Manual Castells argues that there is now a global criminal economy worth over 1 trillion per annum and this takes a number of forms from arms trafficking, green crimes, drugs trade, cybercrimes, smuggling of legal goods to international terrorism.

The global criminal economy is seen to have a supply and demand side. The supply side is what provides the resources such as drugs, sex workers and other goods demanded in the West. The demand side is the organisations, people or criminals that need to use the resources that are supplied for profitable means.

IAN TAYLOR (GLOBALISED CAPITALISM)

This left realist approach found that free rain market forces exploit third world countries by using transnational organisations. This de-regulation leads to a lack of government control over the economics. Marketization also increasingly encourages people to see themselves as consumers undermining social cohesion. Thus capitalism being criminogenic creates higher rates of crime worldwide because it has globalised. Marxists would argue that MEDC’s are seen to benefit from capitalism where LEDC’s are exploited.

WHITE (TRANSGRESSIVE CRIMINLOGY)

In his studies of green criminology, he argues that the reason why harming the environment is justified by developed or developing societies is because of the dominant ideology and consensus that humans have the right to dominate nature. This is why transnational companies and nation states can justify the harm to the environment. Thus this type of crime isn’t overlooked due to capitalist means exploiting humans and the environment more focused on economic growth and profit. 2 views are:

· Anthropocentric View- Which believes humans have the rights to dominate nature for economic growth which is put before the needs of the environment.

· Ecocentric View- Which believes humans and the environment are interdependent. This view is taken by most green criminologists that agree that harm is what harms the environment.

Carrabine et al- Distinguishes between 2 types of Green Crime which are primary and secondary green crimes:

· Primary Green Crime- This is crimes that involve the destruction of the environment and earth’s resources which destabilizes the ecosystem.

· Secondary Green Crime- This is crimes that occur because of the destruction to the environment where groups argue against these the state.

(Schwendinger- We should define crime as the breaking of human rights rather than the breaking of legal rules. For example, states that practice imperialism, racism or sexism will have higher crime rates as the state promotes crime based on themes or factors.

Argues that by doing this, we recognise how crime is a political social construction such as the Nazi laws on persecution against the Jews.

COHEN (NEUTRALISATION THEORY)

Stan Cohen argues that crimes committed by different states are justifying human rights violations. This is because they aim to impose a different constriction of the event to society than what may have appeared to be the case. This is achieved by:

· Denying the victims human rights. (But they are terrorists.)

· Deny the injuries to the victims. (We are the real victims.)

· Denying the responsibility of the crime (We were just obeying orders.)

· Condemning the condemned (They were threatening us.)

· Appealing to a higher loyalty (Protecting the World.)

KELMAN AND HAMILTON (OBEDIENCE)

Kelman and Hamilton identify 3 features that allow state crimes to be permitted and justifiable to wider society. These are:

· Authorisation- When the acts are ordered or approved from those in authority so normal moral principles are replaced by the duty to obey.

· Routinisation- This is when state crimes are turned into a repetitive routine which individuals perform on a scheduled basis so they end up being desensitized and the act becomes detached to them.

· Dehumanisation- These are when the enemy are portrayed as subhuman or animals leading perceptions to justify crime against them. (In case of Hutu and Tutsis conflict, Rwandan Genocide)