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GREEN CRIME AND ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME - Coggle Diagram
GREEN CRIME AND ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME
GREEN CRIME DEFINITIONS
traditional crimonologist
- believes that something is criminal if it breaks the law
green crime = anything that breaks the law
SITU AND EMMONS - define green crime as 'an unauthorised act or omission that violates the law of a state or nation
this definition would not consider global warming or acid rain as a crime as they do not break any laws
strength
- easy to prosecute as as broken the law
weakness
- what about global green crimes, not just crimes that breaks an individuals country's law
some things are wrong but are not treated as such
green criminologist
- believes something is criminal if it has caused harm to humans, living creatures or the environment
ROB WHITE - a crime against the environment is anything that harms it, even if no official law has been broken
to understand if something is criminal we have to study
zemiology
- the study of harms
green criminologist = called transgressive criminologist - they have an ecocentric view of the universe
someone who takes a transgressive or wider understanding of what constitutes green crime, saying that it should be wider than just law breaking
weaknesses
- everyone would be a criminal as everyone causes harm in some way
what exactly constitutes harm, it can change with people
late post-modern
- BECK argues that environmental crime is crime committed by humans against the environment that creates
global risk
humans have created environmental risks through their use of technology and manufacturing (e.g pollution from factories)
humans have manufactured environmental risks and we now live in a global risk society where we face disastrous consequences for the global environment
PHILIP SUTTON - we are all not vulnerable to the environmental damage we have created
more wealthy people can move away from areas of environmental damage therefore we are not all aware of this global risk - it does not impact us all
WHY IS IT DIFFICULT TO POLICE GREEN CRIME
many green crimes are undertaken by states themselves, the very people supposed to be policing environmental harm
different countries have different laws, and so a harmful act committed in one country may not be considered illegal or a harm in another country, meaning prosecutions may be unlikely to take place
laws that exist are shaped by powerful capitalism interests, especially global big businesses - there is selective law making and enforcement so green crime is not often cracked down on
governments in developing countries are not likely to take action against transnational corporations as they are dependent on them for their income - links to globalisation
laws that exist to protect the environment are often weak, and there is no internationally agreed way of policing them
TYPES OF GREEN CRIME
NIGEL SOUTH - 2 types
primary green crimes
- primary crimes are 'crimes that result directly from the destruction and degradation of the earth's resources
secondary green crimes
- crime that grows out of breaking the rules aimed at preventing or regulating environmental disasters
e.g. governments regularly break their own laws and cause environmental harm
EXAMPLES
primary: crimes of air pollution, crimes of deforestation, crimes of water pollution
secondary: hazardous waste and organised crime, state violence against oppositional groups
WHO OR WHAT CAUSES GREEN CRIME?
INDIVIDUALS
- we all harm the environment, even driving a car
PRIVATE BUSINESSES
- corporate crime
STATES AND GOVERNMENTS
- the military are the biggest institutional polluter
ORGANISED CRIME
- in collusion with governments and industry for contracts to do with waste disposal
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF GREEN CRIME?
WHITE
- (green criminologist) argues that capitalism is the main cause of green crimes as capitalism has an anthropocentric view
similar to the
Marxist
focus on green crime as an act of power - the ruling class shape and define the law to benefit their own exploitative interests on the environment
HALSEY AND WHYTE
argue green crime is caused by the dominance of
capitalist ideology
which prioritises economic growth over the environment
it is anthropocentric
this can be seen in the actions of individuals, companies, states and organised crime units
WHO ARE THE VICTIMS OF GREEN CRIME?
BECK
- green crime affects everyone equally as we all live in a global risk society with environmental risks that humans have created themselves
WOLF
- when green crime is committed the natural environment is damaged but the victims of these crimes tend to be the poor as they are unable to move away from sites which are damaged in environmental disasters
EVIDENCE that the poor are victims of green crime:
1984
BHOPOL DISASTER
victims of the Union Carbide gas leak (a pesticide factory leaked which poisoned the water and air)
0ver 2,000 died immediately due to the leak but it estimated that over 8,000 have died since of gas related illnesses - as many of the local people were unable to move away from the BHOPAL after the incident as they were so poor
thousands of animals died
WHITE
- developing countries face far greater exposure to environmental air, water and land pollution than those in the developed world
POTTER
- social division are reinforced by environmental harm, with the least powerful (the poor and women) being the most likely victims of green crimes, and the bourgeoisie being most likely to commit crime
EVALUATION OF GREEN CRIME
recognises the growing importance of environmental issues and global risks
recognises human independence with other species and the environment, and that we depend on the environment to survive
Positivists want to see sociology as a science with objective definitions but we are unable to measure and test harm as it is open to interpretation
Marxists see green crime as an expression of power - the ruling class shape and define the law just to benefit their own exploitative interests on the environment and so can ensure that the enforcement on environmental crime is weak
these laws benefit transnational corporations, and ensure that white collar crime is uneasily detected
the theory focuses on harm rather than criminality, meaning that green crime is accused of being engaged with a subjective interpretation rather than an objective analysis - therefore biased