crime - state crime Flashcards
whats a defenition of state crime
green and ward - illegal or deviant activities committed by state agencies
whats the scale of state crimes
extremely large scale so its power enables it to conceal its crimes or evade punishment. state also defines what crime is & manages criminal justice system
what are examples of state crimes
partygate during lockdown, grenfell tower in 2017, rwanda genocide in 90s
whats the domestic law defenition of state crime
chambliss - acts defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials while executing their duties as representatives of the state
why is chambliss’ definition domestic law
limited to the legal framework within a particular country
whats an example of a domestic law (chambliss)
MP expenses scandals - claimed expenses beyond the permissible limits as part of their job benefits. MPs committed it while performing their duties as state officials
whats an evaluation of domestic law
using states own domestic law is inadequate b/c the state have power to make their own laws & avoid criminalising their own actions e.g nazi germany passing a law to sterilise disabled ppl
whats the social harms/zemiology defenition of state crime
michalowski - state crime includes not only illegal actions but also those legally permissible actions that have similar harmful consequences as illegal actions
based on study of zemiology (focuses on the harm caused by state actions)
whats an example of zemiology state crime (malinowski)
UK’s austerity policies considered state crimes under this def - altho theyre legally permissiable, theyve caused harm to people through decline in public services and difficulties in accessing necessities
whats an evaluation of zemiology/social harms
creates a single standard that can be applied to multiple states
but what level of harm must be caused before its considered a crime? danger of making field of study too wide
whats the labelling definition of state crime
state crime is a social construct & what counts as state crime is different depending on who/when/where you ask the question
whats an evaluation of labelling defenition of state crime
recognises its socially constructed so what ppl consider sc as can vary across cultures
however audiences can be manipulated e.g r/c ideology, may use media to persuade public to see war as legitimate not criminal
whats the international law definition of state crime
laws created through treaties and agreements between states e.g geneva and hague conventions on war crimes
whats an evaluation of international law defenition of state crime
doesnt depend on individual definitions, instead uses globally agreed definitions & acc intended to prevent state crime unlike domestic law
but focuses largely on war crimes & agaisnt humanity, ignoring things like corruption
whats the human rights definition of state crime
schwendingers - if an act violates human rights it should be a crime, e.g imperalism/racism/sexism
whats a positive evaluation for human rights definition of state crime
risse et al - virtually all states care abt their human rights image bc theyre global social norms. makes them sucseptible to shaming and can provide leverage to make them respect civilians rights
whats an evaluation of human rights definition of state crime
cohen - while gross violations of human rights like torture are clearly criminal, other acts such as economic exploitation arent self-evidently criminal despite being morally unacceptable
types of state crime - whats political criminality
mclaughlin - acts committed by the state or its agents to maintain power or suppress opposition e.g fraud, curruption,