State Crimes Flashcards
Definitions of state crime:
Green and Ward (2005) definition of state crime.
- “illegal or deviant activities conducted by or with the complicity of state agencies.”
} encompasses any unlawful activities conducted by the gov. officials, employees, gov department such as department of education, military or justice. - illegal activities can violate statutory laws or contravene the societal norms and values.
Definitions of state crime:
Why is it necessary to examine more subtle definitions of state crimes? (give examples)
The gov hold the power to draft laws that can provide legal coverage for their actions.
EXAMPLES
Domestic laws,
Social harms and Zemiology,
International law,
Human rights.
Definitions of state crime:
Chambliss: Domestic law
Definition of state crime and examples
“any action that is legally recognised as a criminal act but is committed by the state officials while executing their duty as representatives of the state.”
} regardless if their rank or position.
i.e: MP expenses scandal.
* MP’s claimed expenses beyond the permissible limits as part of their job benefits.
* Committed it whilst performing duties as state officials.
Definitions of state crime:
Michalowski: Zemiology
Definition of state crime and examples
Focuses on the harm caused by the state actions.
Does not only include illegal activities but also those legally permissible actions that have similar effects as legal actions.
i.e: UK austerity policies (higher taxes, lower funding.)
* caused harm in the form of decline in public services and difficulties in accessing necessities.
Definitions of state crime:
Rothe and Mullins: Domestic and international law.
Definition of state crime and examples.
“State crime occurs when an action is taken by or on behalf of the state that violates these laws.”
i.e: war crime and crimes against humanity.
Rothe and Mullins also highlight:
* complicity of state in these crimes.
* not just the actions of individual state officials that constitute state crime, but the actions taken by or on behalf of the state.
* Include state agencies: police or military.
i.e: GULF WAR
* Gulf war and falsified reports of weapons of mass destruction highlights how state crime occurs on an international level
- US and potentially UK gov. actions violated international + domestic laws.
- Based on false information, resulted in loss of many lives, harm affected to the regions.
Definitions of state crime:
Schwendinger: Human rights (1975)
“State crime refers to any violation of fundemental human rights committed by state or its agents.”
} military forces (police) or officials within gov.
- Definition is grounded in the united nations declaration of Human rights -> 1948.
- May not apply to all countries as not all have ratified the decelaration.
Types of state crime:
Types of state crimes:
- Political crimes,
- Crimes by security,
- Economic crimes,
- Social and economic crimes.
Types of state crime:
1. Political Crimes:
“actions such as corruption, censor ship, and war crimes.”
* involves misuse of public funds for personal gain or granting of gov. contracts in exchange for bribes.
* Context of COVID pandemic, political corruption including grant of contracts to companies with no experience of PPE (personal protective equipment) production or creation of “VIP lane” for friends of political parties to access contracts.
* ELECTROCAL FRAUD vote rigging: election outcome is manipulated through actions such as the voter supression.
Types of state crime:
1. Political crime: political censorship
“exists when gov. attempt to conceal, fake, distort, or falsify info. that its citizens recieve by supressing or crowding out the political news that oublic may recieve through news outlets.”
Types of state crime:
1. Political Crime: war crime
TWO TYPES OF WAR CRIMES:
1. Illegal wars: not self defence or declared by the UN.
2. Crime committed during war: Abu Ghraib prision crime, Bombong of civillians or areas of no strategic value.
Types of state crime:
2. Crimes by security or by police forces: Genocide
“any act committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.”
EXAMPLES:
- Holocaust genocide
- Cambodain genocide under Khmer roughe reigme.
- Bosnian genocide targeted at Bosnian muslims
- Palestinian genocide targeted at Palestinians.
Types of state crime:
2. Crimes by security or by police forces: Toture
“committed by security or police forces. It involves inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or to force them to do or say something.”
- take the form of psychological abuse, such as sensory deprivation or sleep deprivation, which can have long-lasting effects on the victim’s mental health.
EXAMPLES
* Waterboarding at Guantanamo Bay
* Operation Demetrius in Ulster, Northern Ireland, during the Troubles
Types of state crime:
2. Crimes by security or by police forces: Imprisionment
“without trial is a violation of human rights that occurs when someone is detained in a prison or psychiatric facility without knowledge of why or for how long.”
EXAMPLES:
* United states detention of citizens on suspicion of terrorism at Guantanamo Bay. There are still people who have not been convicted for terrorism and have been held for years in prison without sufficient evidence.
* UK attempt to introduce this after July 7 bombings in 2005, not successful.
* People can be detained for up to 28 days with court order, and if there’s not enough evidence to convict at the end of that time, they must be released.
Types of state crime:
2. Crimes by security or by police forces: disappearance of dissidents
“refers to cases where individuals who speak up against the government or its policies suddenly go missing.”
EXAMPLES:
* Mexico, students dissappeared in 2014.
* Often used to silence opposition and instill fear within the population.
* Rumours of this happening in China, Russia, Saudi Arabia
Types of state crime:
3. Economic Crime:
TWO TYPES:
1. violations of health and safety laws.
2. economic policies that cause harm to the citizenry.
