MT4 - Globalisation and crime

Question 1

Transnational crime

Transnational organised crime

Answer 1

Transnational crime: Any crime that crosses national borders

Transnational organised crime: Criminal organisations that form business networks to commit ctime that crosses national borders for mutual bennefit i.e profit

Question 2

Examples of global organised crimes

Answer 2

People trafficking - prostitution, forced labour and illegal organs

Drugs trafficking - manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition

Trafficking in endangered species and cultural artefacts e.g. ivory

Question 3

How globalisation has impacted w/c crime

Answer 3

W/C: Globalisation has enabled large transnational corporations to relocate their factories to LEDCs where wages are lower which has caused widespread unemployment and poverty among the in the MEDCs which cause rel-dep

C: not everyone suffers r/d

Question 4

How globalisation has impacted m/c crime

Answer 4

M/C: Taylor Principles free market economy (choice, competiion and no government intervention) as a result of globalisation has increased crime. The unregulated global free market enables the elite to commit WCC and corporate crime such as insider trading, tax evasion, fraudulent claims for subsidies, etc.

C: Taylor fails to explain why only some people turn to crime, when the majority are still law abiding.

Question 5

Who commits environmental/green crime and how?

Answer 5

Individuals
dumping of waste, littering, picking protected wild flowers, shooting of birds of pray, hunting

Businesses (corporate environmental crime)
disposal of toxic waste - example = gas explosion in Bhopal 1884 in which 10,000 died + 20,000 injured

Governments
pollution and transport and dumping of waste material - example = sinking of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior protesting against the french government for nuclear testing in the pacific ocean

Question 6

Primary environmental crime

Answer 6

Environmental issues (legal under international law) rather than crimes

Examples:
Crimes of air pollution
Crimes of deforestation
Crimes of water pollution

Question 7

Secondary environmental crime

Answer 7

Actions that are illegal under international law but are not enforced includes:

State violence against oppositional groups (French government’s secret agents blew up a Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior protesting against French nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific ocean)

Hazardous waste and organised crime (disposal of toxic waste illegally to save costs)

Bribery / organised crime to avoid environmental regulations

Question 8

Sociological approaches to environmental crime (10 marks)

Answer 8

1. Traditional criminology

2. Green criminology

Question 9

Traditional criminology

Answer 9

concerned with environmental crimes as defined by national and international laws and regulations concerning the environment.

Situ and Emmons define environmental crimes as acts that violate the law.

Therefore, traditional criminology examines national laws to see if a crime has been committed against the environment.

+C: The government can sometimes be under the pressure from lobbying (large donations to political parties) thus environmental laws are created in the interest of the groups rather than society’s benefit

Question 10

Green criminology

Answer 10

More radical approach to traditional criminology as it looks at any action that harms the environment, even if it is not criminal that seeks to overstep national laws by focusing on the damage which is being done, therefore adopting a global perspective

White argues that many of the worst environmental harms are not illegal because different countries have different laws so that the same action may be a crime in one country, but not in another; however these actions must still be studied by green criminology as they are harmful to the environment.

+C It is difficult to define the boundaries of right and wrong - no pragmatic solutions towards solving issues such as fossil fuel dependency.

Question 11

Different types of state crime

Answer 11

War crimes – include deliberate targeting of civilians by states in times of war

Genocide – refers to violent crimes committed against national, ethnic or religious groups.

Torture – e.g. UK and USA using extraordinary rendition in the Iraq war – taking prisoners from a country where torture is banned to a country where it is allowed.

Question 12

Why state crime is the most serious?

Answer 12

The scale - its universal (happening in every country)

State is the source of the law the state that defines what if criminal so it can avoid defining its own actions as criminal e.g nazi germany - 1933 sterlisation law

State have sovereignty - state has supreme authority which makes it difficult for international organisations, such as the UN, to intervene

Question 13

Definitions of state crime

Answer 13

Domestic law definition of state crime

Zemiology (study of harm) definition

Labelling theory

Question 14

Domestic law definition of state crime

Answer 14

Chambliss argues state crime is any act defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials in pursuit of their jobs as representatives of the state.

+C: gnores the fact that the state has the power to avoid criminalising its own actions and they can pass laws allowing them to carry out harmful acts, e.g. Nazi Germany sterilisation

Question 15

Zemiology (study of harm) definition

Answer 15

Michalowski argues that state crime should be any act committed by the state that causes harm, regardless of whether that act is illegal or not e.g. cutting bennefits

+C: too vague - what makes something harmful and how harmful does it need to be to count as a crime?

Question 16

Labelling theory

Answer 16

argues an act only becomes criminal when the audience (e.g. the public) define it as criminal. Therefore, state crime is socially constructed and depends on societal reaction to the act.

+C: the labelling theory’s definition of state crime ignores the fact that the state has the power to influence public opinion, e.g. Nazi Germany used propaganda

Question 17

Explanations of state crime (obediance)

Answer 17

Adorno et al define authoritarian personality as the willingness to obey orders of superiors without question. They argue that during WWII many Germans had such as personality as a result of disciplinarian socialisation that was common at the time.

State crimes are crimes of obedience as they require obedience to higher authority and Milgram’s research shows many people are willing to obey authority even when it involves harming others as a result of the role they are socialised into.

Question 18

How states deny and legitimate their crimes

Answer 18

Denial of victim - they are terrorists

Denial of responsibility - i was only following orders

Appeal to higher loyalty - act for a greater cause

Question 19

Sociological perspective on state crimes

Answer 19

Marxists would tend to focus on state crimes motivated by money, which would include most cases of corruption and state-corporate crime

Radical feminists would condemn state crime as man made, as men head most government departments and business corporations worldwide. They would point out that rape is commonplace in times of war as male invaders impose their power on the most vulnerable

Question 20

News values:

Answer 20

Immediacy - breaking news (live coverage of events)

Simplification - of the story e.g stabbings are easier to report than white collar crimes

Dramatisation - how exciting the theory is

Question 21

Why cant you trust fictional representation of crime?

Answer 21

media representations of crime follow the law of opposites e.g. criminals are protayed as clever and glamorous when in reality this is not true

Property crime is underrepresented, while violent and sex crimes are over-represented

Police clear up rate is high so the police are presented in positive light

Question 22

Why cant you trust factional representation of crime?

Answer 22

The media over-represent violent and sexual crime when in reality only a minority includes violence and most crimes are non-violent e.g. vandalism

Media coverage exaggerates clear up rates - police success in solving crimes.

The media exaggerates the risk of victimisation, especially to women, middle class and the elderly. In reality the elderly are the group least likely to be attacked.

Question 23

The media as a cause of cyber crime

Answer 23

Cyber deception and theft – identity theft, phishing (obtaining bank account details online through deception) and illegal downloads.

Cyber pornography – such as child pornography.

Cyber violence – such as online bullying.

Question 24

How the media create an increase in crime (10)

Answer 24

Left Realists - media can cause crime through their portrayal of ‘normal’ lifestyles which create a sense of relative deprivation and marginalisation = crime
+C: trust OCS which ignores WWC (selective enforced)

Deviancy amplification:
2 youth subcultures in the 1960s = A small fight between mods and rockers was exaggerated
Media created moral panic - which led to negative stereotypes and thus more crime
+C: Thornton argues increasing moral pan outdated bc they arent rare

Question 25

How the media creates the fear of crime (10)

Answer 25

media exaggerates the risks of certain groups of people becoming its victims such as women and the elderly which causes fear of crime
Gerbner et al found that heavy users of television (over 4hrs per day) had higher levels of fear of crime.
+C: possible that these people watch a lot of TV because they are already fearful of crime so they stay indoors more

Deviancy amplification:
2 youth subcultures in the 1960s = A small fight between mods and rockers was exaggerated events
Media created moral panic - which led to negative stereotypes and thus more crime
+C: Thornton argues increasing moral pan outdated bc they arent rare