State Crime Flashcards
Green and Warde’s definition of state crime
Illegal or deviant activities perperated by, or with the complicity of, state agencies
What does state crime include?
All forms of crimes committed by or on behalf of states & governments in order to further their policies
Why is state crime the most serious form of crime?
The scale of state crime - the state’s enormous power gives it the potential to inflict harm on a huge scale
The state is the source of law - it’s their role to define criminality and uphold the law and prosecute offenders. However this means it can conceal its crimes and evade punishment
McLaughlin’s categories of state crime
Political crimes (corruption or censorship)
Crimes by security and police forces (genocide)
Economic crimes (violations of health and safety laws)
Social and cultural crimes - institutional racism
Chambliss definition of state crime
Acts defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials in pursuit of their jobs as representatives of the state
Evaluation of Chambliss’s definition of state crime
Using a state’s own domestic law to define state crime is inadequate, ignoring the fact that states have the power to make laws so they can avoid criminalising their own actions
Hillyard et al argues?
We should take a much wider view of state wrongdoing. We should replace the study of crimes with ‘zemiology’ whether or not they are agaisnt the law
Michalowski state crime definition
Includes not just illegal acts, but also legally permissable acts whose consequences are similar to those of illegal acts in the harm they cause
Evaluation of Michalowksi, Hillyard et al
This definition prevents states from ruling themselves ‘out of court’ by making laws that allow them to misbehave
Rothe and Mullins definition of state crime
Any action by or on behalf of a state that violates international law and/or a state’s own domestic law
