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Recent Issues in Crime and Deviance - Coggle Diagram
Recent Issues in Crime and Deviance
Globalisation
Held et al
(1999) argued that
crime
has become
globalised
The nature of globalisation has also allowed
transnational organised crime
to
grow
Transnational organised crime
is crime committed by a
global criminal organisation
(e.g. a
mafia
) that operates in
more than one country
These crimes include things like drug trafficking, money laundering, smuggling human organs and the sex trade, and also
new types
of crime e.g.
cybercrime
Global criminal organisations can have
thousands
of members across the world
Globalisation has changed their
structure
- they used to have a clear
power hierarchy
, but now tend to have
small, almost independent networks
in different countries
Hobbs and Dunningham
(1998) described this structure as
'glocal'
-
local networks
with
global links
The
global criminal economy
is worth
100s of billions
of pounds per year
Issues
Globalised crime
can be hard to
police
, as it
crosses borders
- it's not always clear whose
responsibility
it is to police it
Also
hard
for the police to pin down members of
global criminal networks
, as they're highly
secretive
It's harder for
sociologists
to
study
globalised crime
The secretive nature of global criminal networks often means that sociologists would have to use
covert participant observation
to study them effectively
Trading in Illegal
Drugs
and
Firearms
Criminals have
100s of billions
of dollars each year from the
global trade
in
illegal drugs
Karofi and Mwanza
(2006) have outlined the
negative impact
of the trade in illegal drugs
Pointed to the consequences for
health
, the changes in
social behaviours
and the
funding
of
terrorism
and
war
with the profits
Global
communications
and relatively
unregulated
financial markets have made the illegal trade in
arms
easier to carry out and harder to trace
Karofi and Mwanza
highlight its role in
destabilising societies
and making existing conflicts worse
Human Trafficking
The
illegal movement
of
people
for
exploitation
Victims are taken with
force
or
deception
One of the
fastest growing global crimes
Millions
of people across the world are currently in
forced labour
as a result of it
It's a
global problem
, involving global criminal organisations, and has a
devastating effect
on its victims
Cybercrime
Globalisation has been a massive increase in computer use and internet use, giving rise to
'cybercrimes'
such as
data theft, fraud, credit scams, email scams
and
illegal pornography
Because it breaches
national boarders
, existing criminal law is often
powerless
to tackle it
The extent is difficult to assess accurately, but some have suggested it will soon
rival
the
drugs trade
in terms of
profits
The
globalisation
of
communications
and the media has also aided the growth of
international terrorism
Terrorists can now access a global audience for their
propaganda
, and are able to create
online networks
for their organisations
Green Crimes
Might be something as small-scale as
fly-tipping
, but on a global scale it includes the illegal trade in
environmentally sensitive substances
like
CFCs
, the illegal trade in
protected animals
and products derived from them, and illegal and unregulated
logging
and
fishing
The
environmental impact
of green crimes can be huge - e.g. illegally traded
CFCs
significantly contribute to
ozone depletion
Also severe
financial costs
- The World Bank estimated in 2004 that
illegal logging
costs timber-producing countries around
10-15 billion dollars
per year in
lost revenue
Developed
countries sometimes
exploit developing
countries' lack of
safety and environmental regulations
to dispose of
toxic waste
cheaply
The
effects
of environmental damage are often felt in
neighbouring countries
- e.g.
industrial pollution
and
nuclear accidents
Beck
(1992) argued we're living in a
'global risk society'
because the
risks
associated with green crimes are often on a
global scale
E.g. green crimes that contribute to
global warming
Many activities that
harm
the environment aren’t actually against the law, which can make them difficult to prosecute
What's
illegal
in one country may be
legal
in another, so companies could simply
move
operations abroad
As governments
make the laws
, they can choose
not
to
criminalise
activities that would make them
money
M J Lynch
(1990) introduced the idea of
green criminology
, which has been built on by others such as
White
(2008)
Green criminology
looks at actions that cause
harm
to
people, animals
and the
environment
South
(2008) splits green crime into
2
categories
Primary green crimes
have an
immediate impact
on the environment
E.g.
water pollution, deforestation
and committing acts that threaten the
survival
of
species
Secondary green crimes
are committed when individuals, companies, or governments
break laws
that are meant to
protect
the earth from
environmental emergencies
E.g.
BP
pleaded guilty to
environmental crimes
after causing a giant
oil spill
in the
Gulf of Mexico
in 2010
Ian Taylor
-
Economic Liberalisation
Taylor
(1997, 1998) argued
economic deregulation
had given some people more
opportunity
to commit crimes like
fraud, money laundering
and
tax evasion
As it's those in
power
who make the
laws
, their crimes are more likely to go
unnoticed
or
unenforced
Argued
globalisation
and
deregulation
have made employment less secure and increased economic instability by
reducing
the
control
states have over their economies
Increased unemployment
and
cuts
in
welfare
have led to a
rise in crime
as people don't believe they'll be able to secure a
reliable income
Global capitalism
has arguably created even more
exploitation
of workers by
transnational coorporations
Blamed
marketisation
for rising crime, this is where.
economic considerations
begin to
dominate
in the way people think of social life
Success becomes equated to owning
expensive consumer goods
- some people turn to crime as a way to achieve this
Argued that it's
too late
to turn the economic clock back completely, but believed that attempts should be made to
recreate
shared
values
of community and civility to
counteract
the process of marketisation