Contempory Issues In Crime - Green Crime Flashcards
Primary Green Crime
crime that results directly from the destruction of the environment.
Secondary Green Crime
these crimes grow out of the floating (ignore) of the rules aimed at preventing environmental disasters.
Primary Crime examples:
Crimes of air pollution - criminals including government, business and consumers. e.g. Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Crimes of Deforestation - criminals include the state ad those profiting from forest cleaning. e.g. ‘indonesia surpasses brazil in deforestation rate’.
Crimes of Species-decline and animal rights - trafficking in animals. e.g. poacher slice off the face of rhinos.
Crimes of Water pollution - criminals include companies who dump toxic waste. e.g. ‘Gulf oil leak was the largest marine oil spill in the history…’
Secondary Crime examples:
State violence against opposition - where the state commits violent acts against civilians to protect their interest. e.g. rainbow warriors sinks after explosion on July 10th 1985.
Hazardous waste and organised crime - toxic waste if vey expensive to dispose of safely so business may dispose dispose of it illegally. e.g. in Italy ‘eco-mafias’ profit from illegal waste dumping.
Harm - White (transgressive approach)
traditional criminology has been concerned with studying acts that clearly break a well defined set of laws.
radical theorists argue that this is outdated and this approach needs to be widened to study newer issues.
Rob White argues that criminology should study any action that causes harm, to either people or the environment.
its important as a large amount of harm is done, whether it breaks the law or not.
e.g. most destructive harm done to the environment is not against the law.
Therefore, green criminology is form of transgressive criminology.
White AO3:
this approach is similar of the Marxist idea of the crimes of the powerful. TNCs and the nations state use their power to define their own interest - think back to state and law making.
The Anthropocentric approach (TNC/states)
these groups take an anthropocentric view of environmental harm, humans have a right to dominate nature, putting economic growth above the environment.
Green criminologists take an ecocentric, which sees both humans and the environment as liable to exploitation. From this view it is possible to see the destruction of green areas for building to hell the rich.
The Anthropocentric approach AO3:
(Support) Marxists would supports this, as they argue the RC are purely interested in making profit and out their wealth above protecting the environment.
‘Global risk society’ and the environment (Beck)
Beck argues the most threats ti human well being and the ecosystem are now human made rather than natural disasters.
Many more manufactured risks in post modern society.
The late modern society is described as a global risk society, e.g. in the UK everyone is enjoying fresh fruit&veg all year round because of the excessive amount of farming in poorer, hotter countries. This damages the natural environment but allows people in the UK to have a healthier diet.
Beck AO3:
Functionalists would argue that the poorer countries producing the crops for the UK and helping the society’s economy. This ensures the smooth running of that society’s infrastructure.
