State Crime

• What is the definition of state crimes according to Green and Ward (2004)?

  Illegal activities by state agencies for policies
• Why are state crimes considered the most serious form of crime?

  They can inflict harm on a large scale
• How many people were murdered by governments in the twentieth century according to Green and Ward (2012)?

  262 million
• What is the state's role in society regarding law?

  To uphold the law and prosecute offenders
• How does national sovereignty affect the United Nations' ability to intervene in state crimes?

  It gives states supreme authority within borders
• What is a major problem with defining state crimes?

  The state defines its own laws and actions
• What was the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany considered under German law?

  Not a crime at the time
• What does the Geneva Convention focus on?

  Humane treatment during war and conflicts
• When was the Geneva Convention significantly updated?

  1949
• What is the First Geneva Convention about?

  Condition of wounded and sick in armed forces
• What does the Fourth Geneva Convention address?

  Protection of civilian persons in war
• What is the transgressive approach in sociology regarding state crime?

  It goes beyond defining crime as law breaking
• What do Schwendinger and Schwendinger (1975) suggest about state crime?

  It should be seen as violations of human rights
• What is the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)?

  A legal framework for universal human rights
• How are states assessed according to O’Byrne (2012)?

  By their failure to prevent injustices
• What rights are included in the wider package of human rights according to Schwendinger and Green and Ward?

  Basic social, economic, civil, and political rights
• What distinguishes state crime from crimes of rogue individuals?

  State crime involves state agency complicity
• What are the ways sociologists have defined state crime?

  1. Domestic law: Acts defined as criminal by law.
  2. Social harms & zemiology: Legally permissible acts causing harm.
  3. Labelling: Social audience defines acts as crimes.
  4. International law: Treaties defining war crimes.
  5. Human Rights: Natural and civil laws protecting rights.
• What are the four categories of state crimes?

  Political, security, economic, social and cultural
• What type of state crime is the treatment of terror suspects in Guantanamo Bay?

  Torture
• What type of state crime involved the UK using 'white noise' in the 1970s?

  Illegal treatment of citizens
• What was the impact of Slobodan Milosevic's actions in the former Yugoslavia?

  Murder of thousands of ethnic Albanians
• What crime was associated with the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko in Russia?

  Assassinations
• What is the significance of the term 'rogue individuals' in the context of state crime?

  They act without state authority or complicity
• How does the definition of state crime vary according to sociologists?

  It varies based on social construction and context
• What is the role of the United Nations in relation to state crimes?

  To intervene based on international law
• What is the main focus of the Human Rights definition of state crime?

  Natural and civil rights of individuals
• What is the impact of state crimes on society?

  They undermine trust and social order
• How do sociologists view the relationship between state crime and human rights?

  State crime often violates human rights
• What are the four categories of state crime?

  Economic, social, cultural, and political crimes
• Why is it useful to know examples of state crimes?

  To summarize what happened and its impact
• What type of state crime involves torture in the USA?

  • Treatment of terror suspects in Guantanamo Bay
  • Illegal treatment of citizens in the UK
• What state crime involved the UK using 'white noise'?

  Illegal treatment of IRA suspects
• What was the impact of police brutality in the USA?

  George Floyd's murder by police in Minneapolis
• Who embezzled over $70 million in Egypt?

  Dictator Mubarak
• What crime was Slobodan Milosevic found guilty of?

  Murder of thousands of ethnic Albanians
• What type of state crime involved Alexander Litvinenko in Russia?

  Assassination by radiation poisoning
• How many people were murdered by Hitler's Nazi state?

  More than 60 million
• What is an example of state-sponsored terrorism by the USA?

  Support for illegal rebel groups
• How many people are estimated to be in slavery worldwide?

  Between 21 and 45 million