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crime & deviance - Coggle Diagram
crime & deviance
9. contemporary types of crime
1. crime and globalisation
globalisation definition-
held
:
'the widening, deepening and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness, in all aspects of life, from the cultural to the criminal, the financial to the spiritual'
transnational organised crime/dark figure of organised crime:
organised crime coordinated across national borders, involving groups or networks of individuals working in more than one country to plan and execute criminal activity
acts like a business; has a supply and demand aspect
-e.g. heroin comes from Afghanistan and gets imported to West + central Europe
transnational organised crime been enabled by global criminal networks:
global criminal networks:
complex interconnections between range of criminal networks which transcend national boundaries (e.g. American Mafia, Columbian drug cartels
developed because of the growth of an information age in which knowledge as well as goods and people can move quickly and easily across national boundaries
glenny:
these networks form a global criminal economy which accounts for 15% of global trade
in order of importance (in economic terms): the main crimes organised criminal gangs engage in are:
1) drug trafficking estimated (8% of world trade)
2) money laundering estimated (2-5% of global GCP)
3) 4-5 million people trafficked each year- profits of up to US$9.5 billion
postmodernist
views on toc:
globalisation creates new insecurities and produces a new mentality of 'risk consciousness', in which risk is seen as global rather than tied to a particular context
e.g. increased movement of people (asylum seekers and economic migrants) has given rise in West about need to 'protect the borders'
leads to intensification of social control at a national level, e.g. tightened border control
6 main impacts of living in a more globalised world on levels of crime:
risk consciousness has been developed
problems with policing
greater inequality has happened which leads to crime
now have global mafia ('McMafia')
glocal crime networks have developed as result of deindustrialisation
disorganised capitalism
1. risk consciousness:
BECK:
argues that global crime has given rise to new set of anxieties or a 'risk consciousness' or 'global risk consciousness'. More people can easily move from country to country and this led to lots of migrants wanting to find work and an increase in terrorist attacks around the world. Created anxiety of 'risk consciousness' in Western countries about need to protect borders and exclude immigrants. Risk consciousness also encouraged by media as they produce moral panics
in past, risk of becoming a victim of crime was thought to depend on local environment, now we are at risk of crime originating from thousands of miles away- global terrorism
One result is intensification of social control at national level (UK toughened border control regulations)
a growing 'risk consciousness' due to globalisation as
BECK
argues can be a good thing as it may encourage countries to work together to establish global and international systems of justice
a risk consciousness due to globalisation and the movement of people does not just instil fear and make people police their borders and try to get rid of immigrants
2. problems with policing:
due to crimes being transnational, they require cooperation between many different law enforcement agencies to bring the criminals to justice
also, what may be illegal in one country may not be in another and if the criminal is one country and the victim is in another it can be difficult to determine jurisdiction
NEWBURN & REINER (2012):
post 9/11, the UK and US governments have shared more information which has led to a better policing of terrorism
3. Greater inequality has happened which leads to crime:
TAYLOR:
argues that globalisation has created inequality and higher rates of poverty.
creates poverty abroad and in West in two ways:
Globalisation has allowed capitalism to create more crime by exploiting workers abroad and creating fraud on larger scale
In Western countries, manufacturing products abroad has led to a lack of jobs and opportunities for WC, which leads to crime
as result, a criminal underclass has developed:
TAYLOR:
argues that globalisation has made it easier for elite groups and transnational corporations to move funds and profit around the world to avoid paying taxes
LEFT REALISTS: LEA & YOUNG:
argue that global media promote a lifestyle that is very materialistic and this leads more people to commit crime as they live in relative deprivation
4. Global mafia ('McMafia'):
old style criminal networks have finished
GLENNY:
argues we have a global organised crime network similar to a business that has a producer, distributor and consumer- like mafia but global. Started to form after collapse of Soviet Union and end of communism in 1989 and led to what he called the 'McMafia'- new form of global mafia and capitalist society in Russia which has helped to produce a global business like crime networks
ways in which mafia acts like global criminal business network:
1) Zone of production: e.g. Afghanistan & Columbia for producing herion
2) Zone of distribution: organised gangs in places such as Mexico and Jamaica help to move drugs around world
3) Zone of consumer: EU and Japan all have people who want more illegal drugs coming through, so more will be produced as part of this chain
HOBBS & DUNNINGHAM:
they say that the roots of crime are primarily still local with some global connections (glocal)
5. Glocal crime networks:
have developed as result of deindustrialisation - especially amongst men
WINLOW:
studied bouncers in Sunderland. Found that as cities in UK nw source hard labour production to other countries rather than UK due to increased globalisation, the UK has become deindustrialised. Men now looking for other ways to assert masculinity and may get involved in crime. Globalisation caused lack of jobs leading men to turn to local crime.
6. Disorganised capitalism:
LASH & URRY:
argue that now we live in a globalised world there is increased deregulation and fewer state controls over business and finance. Meaning that there is a greater opportunity for crime to happen as it is harder to keep track-disorganised capitalism. Corporations now act transnationally, moving money, manufacturing, waste disposal and staff around world to increase profits and lower regulation
general evaluation:
could be argued has also had a very positive effect- we now have Europol a group of European police forces who work together to tackle crime across different countries
hyperglobalists:
believe that globalisation is happening and is broadly a good thing: this is a process that is making society better
pessimistic globalists:
argue that globalisation is happening but it is a negative feature of contemporary society: they believe that globalisation is largely westernisation or cultural imperialism leading to a homogenous global society, that destroys local cultures
traditionalists:
unconvinced that globalised is really happening
impact of globalisation on crime is hard to determine as it deals with secretive and complex structures and research is dangerous to do
studying globalisation and crime is a distraction into the research of routine crimes which concern peoples' every day lives
easy to exaggerate the significance and impact of global crime
2. green crime
traditional criminology definition:
believes that something is criminal if it breaks the law
therefore a green crime is anything that breaks a law
situ & emmons (2000):
defines green crime as 'an unauthorised act or omission that violates the law of a state or nation'
would not consider global warming or acid rain as a crime as they do not break any laws
easy to prosecute as it has broken a law
doesn't include global green crimes, just crimes that break an individual countries law
there are some things which are wrong but are not treated as such as there is no law against them
green criminology transgressive definition:
something is criminal if it has caused harm to human beings, living creatures or the environment
WHITE:
argues that 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)
everyone would be a criminal if this is the case as we all create harm in some way
what exactly constitutes harm?
we have differing opinions- impractical
hard to police- how do you police harm?
late postmodern definition:
beck:
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 manufactured environmental risk and we now live in a global risk society where we face disastrous consequences for the global environment
sutton:
more wealthy people can move away from areas of environmental damage therefore we are not all aware of this global risk- does not impact us all
why is it difficult to police green crime?
many green crimes 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, so prosecutions may be unlikely to take place
laws are shaped by powerful capitalist 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
:
south:
classifies green crimes into two types:
1) primary: 'crimes that result directly from the destruction and degradation of the earth's resources', e.g. crimes of air pollution
2) secondary: 'crime that grows out of breaking the rules aimed at preventing or regulating environmental disasters', e.g. government regularly break their own laws and cause environmental harm
who or what causes green crime?
1) individuals: all harm environment- driving a car
2) private businesses- corporate crime
3) states and governments- military are biggest institutional polluter
4) organised crime- in collusion with governments and industry for contracts to do with waste disposal
green criminologists:
all of these groups have an anthropocentric view (human-centred approach/idea that humans have the right to use the world's resources and dominate nature) of the environment and that is what leads them to commit green crime.
white:
green criminologist argues that capitalism is main cause of green crimes as capitalism has an anthropocentric view
marxists:
focus on green crime as an act of power; ruling class shape and define the law to benefit their own exploitative interests on the environment
halsey & 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 (2011):
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
1984
people of Bhopal in India who were the victims of the Union Carbide gas leak (a pesticide factory leaked which poisoned the water and air)
over 2000 died immediately due to leak but estimated that >8000 have died since of gas related illnesses, as many of local people were unable to move away from Bhopal after the incident as they were so poor
thousands of animals also died
white (2003):
developing countries face far greater exposure to environmental air, water and land pollution than those in the developed world
potter (2010):
social divisions are reinforced by environmental harm, with least powerful (the poor and women) being the most likely victims of green crimes, and the bourgeoisie being most likely to commit crime
evaluation:
recognises the growing importance of environmental issues and global risks
recognises human interdependence with other species and the environment, and that we depend on the environment to survive
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 it is baised
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
10. how should society respond to criminality?
criminal justice system (CJS)
collective term for public bodies that work to uphold the law and are designed to prevent + prosecute crime
e.g. police, crown prosecution service, the court system
functions:
prevention
retribution
public protection
rehabilitation
functionalism:
see criminal justice system as a vital institution within the society
works with other social institutions to ensure social solidarity + cohesion by maintaining law + order
marxism:
see CJS as part of repressive state apparatus
used by ruling class to maintain their power through oppression whilst appearing to be legitimate
feminism:
tool of patriarchy to maintain their power
most members of CJS are men + women face double victimisation + double deviancy at their hands