Globalisation and Crime

• Castells 


  The global criminal economy - there is now a global criminal economy worth £1 trillion per annum. E.g. illegal trafficing, cyber-crimes and the drugs trade have increased
• Global risk consciousness


  Globalisation creates a new mentality of 'risk conciousness' - risk is global as opposed to being concentrated in particular places. E.g. Terrorism. The media creates a moral panic about the supposed 'threat'. E.g. immigrants are portrayed as terrorists. Leads to hate crimes against minorities. This leads to the intensification of social control at the national level. E.g. the UK hasd the toughest border control
• Globalisation, Capitalism and crime

  Taylor = globalisation has lead to changes in the pattern and extent of crime. Crimes being committed are more serious. Globalisation has created greater inequality + crimes at both ends of the social spectrum
• Relative deprivation


  TNC's have switched manufacturing to low-wage countries, producing job security, unemployement and poverty. Deregulation of financial markets means that governments have little control over their own economies. E.g. state spending on welafre has declined. Global media portrats success in terms of lifestyle of consumption - creates a sense of relative deprivation. This encourages the poor to turn to crime. Unemployement increases and increase drugs trade
• Corporate crime


  Globalisation also creates criminal opportunities on a grand scale for elite groups. E.g. deregulation of financial markets ment companies move their business to LEDC countries to avoid taxation. Companies now also subcontract 'flexible' workers who are often working illegally for less than the minimum wage or in breach of health and saftey laws
• Supply and Demand - Taylor


  Criminal economy functions of supply and demand basis. E.g. the rich West has a demand from drugs, sex workers and other illegal goods. This creates a need for supply from LEDC's. E.g. Columbia - 20% of the population depends on cocaine production. To understand crimes such as drugs, we need to look at production to consumption, not just consumption
• Patterns of Criminal Organisations - Hobbs and Dunnigham


  Globalisation and de-industrialisation has created new criminal opportunities on a local level. E.g. Winlow's bouncers. Hobbs and Dunningham - focus on how criminal organisations have changed in a globalised world, rather than focusing on the types of crimes committed. Now we have 'loose-not' networks composed of other individuals seeking opportunities for illegal activity. This is in contrast to large scale 'mafia-style' criminal organisations
• Glocal organisations - Hobbs and Dunnigham


  Crime now works on a 'glocal' system as it involves global connections but is locally based. New criminal organisations operate locally but with international links. E.g. the drugs trade, the form of organisation varies from place to place. There is a shift from old hierarchaial gang strucutres to loose networks of flexible, opportunistic entreprenurial criminals
• McMafia - Glenny


  Glenny focuses on a particular case in Russia of 'Oligarchs' to analyse how globalisation has effected the strucutre of criminal organisations and how they operate. The new McMafia sells services as part of a private business. Under communism, the Soviet state had regulated the prices of goods.
• Glenny - McMafia


  In the fall of communism, the government de-regulated most sectors of the economy except for natural resources. People baught these resources e.g. diamonds at a low price and sold them at an astronomical price. These became the new capitalist class 'Oligrachs'. To protect their wealth, the oligarchs turned to the mafias. Unlike traditional mafias, who were based on ethnic and family ties. The new mafias were purely economic organisations to pursue self-interest and sold protection, then build criminal links with other countries
• What is green crime

  Crime against the environment. Green crime can be linked to globalisation. Green crime is a threat globally. E.g. industrial pollution in one country can turn into acid rain in another
• What are the types of green crime

  South -

  1. Primary green crime - direct harm to the earths natural resources, animals or people. E.g. Air polution
  2. Secondary green crime - Emerges from flouting of rules/ regulations in place to protect the environment. E.g. Hazardous waste and organised crime
• South


  Environmental discrimination describes the facts that poorer groups are worse effected by polution. E.g. balck families find their houses close to waste grounds or polluting industrial sites
• Explanations of green crime - Global 'risk society' - Beck

  Late modern society. E.g. the development in technology brings risks. e.g. global warming. Manufactured risks. These man-made risks harm the environemtns which creates climate change - this is a global risk rather than a local risk. 'smog' is democratic - pollution from any country affects the whole society. E.g. Russia suffered a heatwave in 2010, linked to global warming. Which destroyed crops and bread orices increased by 30%
• Green Criminolgy - White

  Criminologists should investigate any action that harms the environment and things within it. Green criminology focuses on any act that damages the environment. Most green crimes aren't illegal. E.g. driving a car.

  Zemiology = the study of social harms - more realistic picture

  Green criminologists have an ecocentric view - envrionemtnal hrams hurts humans. Humans and their environment are interdependant. White argues government + coperations take an anthropocentric view - humans have a right to dominate nature
• What is an anthropocentric


  What White states governments and coperations take - Humans have a right to dominate nature - legitemises exploitation
• What is an ecocentric view


  White - Environmental harm hurts humans. Humans and their environemtn are interdependant
• What is zemiology


  The study of social harms
• What is green criminology

  Any act that damages the environment
• Marxists View of green crime

  Green crime is clearly linked to inequality. South - environmental discrimination. Green crime is further evidence of the criminogenic nature of capitalism. R.C. continue to exploit the environment and the poor who live near it suffer. E.g. W.C. can't afford housing in desirable places, no power to change it. Also gross inequality of basic needs - the average home uses 2000 litres of water a day. 500 million people lack clean drinking water
• What are the characteristics of state crime according to McLaughlin

  • Economic crimes
  • Social + cultural crimes
  • Political crimes
  • Crimes by security and police forces
• Give two examples of state crime

  Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig disaster 2010

  Challenger space shuttle disaster 1986
• Why are state srimes one of the most serious forms of crime

  The scale of the crime

  The state in the source of law
• What are the three defintions of state crime

  1. Social harm and Zemiology - Hillyard
  2. International law - Rothe and Mullins
  3. Human rights - Schwendinger
• Authoritarian personality - Adorno

  Some have personality traits which make them blindly obey orders from superiors without questioning. E.g. Nazi soldiers.
• Obedience to Authority - Kelman and Hamilton


  Studied My Lai Massacre in Vietnam - American soldiers killed 400 civilians. Three features that cause obedience:

  1. Authorisation
  2. Routanisation
  3. Dehumanisation
• Bauman

  1. Science and technology
  2. Division of labour
  3. Bureaucratisation
  4. Instrumental rationality
• Culture of denial - cohen

  States now make a greater effort to conceal/ justify their human rights crime or de-label them. Dictatorships generally flatly deny any human rights abuse, legitemises their actions. This involves a sprial of decline:

  1. It didn't happen
  2. State defense
  3. Justification
• Matza


  Techniques of neutralisation

  1. Denial of victim
  2. Denial of injury
  3. Denial of responsibility
  4. Condemning the condemners
  5. Appeal to higher loyalties