Globalisation and crime

What do Held and McGrew argue about globalisation and crime?

Argue that globalisation involved the process of ‘deterritorialisation’, meaning that an increasing number of MNCs are stretched across the globe. Faster communication, travel and tech have made national borders irrelevant, the world has become a ‘single territory’ for both legal and illegal trade.

What are some of the causes of globalisation?

• Spread of new information and communication technologies

• Rise of MNCs

• Cheaper and more extensive air travel

• Invention of the internet and other forms of global mass media

What does a globalisation of crime refer to?

An increasing interconnectedness of crime across national borders

What does Castells argue about the global criminal economy?

Argues we now have a global criminal economy worth an estimated £1 trillion per annum, today this value exceeds £10 trillion. This is driven by cybercrime, drug trafficking and financial crimes. This all works on supply and demand made possible due to globalisation.

What does Taylor argue about the global criminal economy?

examined how financial market deregulation and globalization created new opportunities for crime. He highlighted cases like the 1996 collapse of Barings Bank due to risky trading, the use of international tax rules by the wealthy to hide assets, and the impact of technology-driven changes in work practices, which increased unemployment, crime, and exploitation of illegal workers.

What is human trafficking and why is it a major part of the global criminal economy?

The buying and selling of people for exploitation, including forced labor, sexual exploitation, slavery, and organ removal. Globalization and conflict have expanded smuggling networks, making it a multi-billion-dollar industry.

What characterizes the illegal drugs trade in the global criminal economy?

A multi-billion-dollar industry involving cocaine, synthetic drugs, and other narcotics, controlled by powerful cartels and transnational networks, despite decades of enforcement efforts.

How has technology contributed to the global criminal economy?

Cybercrime—including identity theft, ransomware, fraud, phishing, and online exploitation—has grown massively, costing trillions annually, with sophisticated attacks often outpacing law enforcement and sometimes involving state actors.

What does Containerisation refer to?

Smuggling via shipping containers, With over 500 million containers shipped yearly and only ~2% inspected, ports are exploited for smuggling drugs, weapons, and people. Criminal gangs bribe officials and hide contraband in legitimate cargo. Cargo theft alone costs ~$30 billion annually, mostly at ports, terminals, or during land transport, despite programs like the UNODC–WCO Container Control Programme.

What do Taylor et al argue about global corporate crime?

Globalisation changes crime patterns by increasing inequality and insecurity, creating crime opportunities for both working-class (blue-collar) and middle-class (white-collar) groups.

How does globalisation contribute to working-class crime?

Mechanisation, job insecurity, unemployment, and poverty push some to illegitimate work, such as the drug trade. Materialistic culture and relative deprivation also encourage crime.

How does globalisation create middle-class or corporate crime opportunities?

Deregulated financial markets, global tax avoidance, and transnational operations allow elites to commit crimes like insider trading or exploiting loopholes in labour and employment laws.

How has globalisation affected employment patterns and crime?

The rise of subcontracting, zero-hours contracts, illegal employment, and breaches of labour laws increases exploitation and creates criminal opportunities for employers and others.

What role does marketisation play in crime according to Taylor (1997)?

Marketisation, where private companies compete instead of government-run services, encourages people to act as individual consumers, focusing on personal costs and benefits. This undermines social cohesion, weakens shared norms, and indirectly creates opportunities for crime, such as cutting corners, exploiting workers, or breaking rules for profit.

How does disorganised capitalism under globalisation affect crime?

Less regulation and state control over business and finance allows corporations to move where profits are higher and labor is cheaper, increasing opportunities for corporate crime (Lash & Urry, 1987).

How does globalisation contribute to growing inequality and crime?

Corporations gain wealth while workers face risks, insecurity, and relative deprivation, which can lead to higher rates of crime among disadvantaged groups.

How does supply and demand in a globalised world create crime?

Western countries’ demand for illegal drugs and stricter immigration policies lead to illegal human trafficking and drug production by poverty-stricken farmers in countries like Colombia, Bolivia, and Afghanistan.

How does globalisation create more opportunities for crime?

Global communications and interconnectedness enable cybercrime, human trafficking, and global corporate crimes to occur on a much larger scale.

How does cultural globalisation and consumerism influence crime?

Media promotes ‘the good life,’ increasing relative deprivation and motivating people to commit crimes to acquire material possessions.

How does individualisation under globalisation affect crime?

People focus on personal consumer desires and may commit crimes to obtain what they cannot access legitimately, often ignoring consequences for others.

What is a global risk society and its impact on crime?

According to Beck (1992), people are more risk-conscious (job loss, identity theft, cyber threats), and media-induced moral panics can lead to hate crimes, e.g., against immigrants or refugees

How has globalisation affected corporate crime?

Globalisation has increased corporate crime through deregulation, profit-driven relocation, and exploitation of workers, with multiple types identified by Slapper and Tombs.

What is lack of compliance with health and safety, give an example, and how has globalisation increased it?

Failure to follow laws protecting workers from harm. Example: 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh. Globalisation: Outsourcing to countries with weak enforcement increases violations.

What is environmental (green) crime, give an example, and how has globalisation increased it?

Illegal actions harming the environment, e.g., pollution or illegal dumping. Example: Volkswagen emissions scandal. Globalisation: Companies relocate operations to countries with weaker environmental regulations.

What are manufacturing offences, give an example, and how has globalisation increased it?

Producing unsafe or illegal products. Example: Johnson & Johnson talc powder asbestos contamination. Globalisation: Spread of production across countries makes quality monitoring harder and encourages cost-cutting.

What are labour offences, give an example, and how has globalisation increased it?

Exploiting workers through low wages, child/forced labour, or rights violations. Example: Nike sweatshops in the 1990s. Globalisation: Jobs moved to low-wage countries and subcontracted, increasing exploitation.

What are unfair trade practices, give an example, and how has globalisation increased it?

Misleading advertising, price-fixing, monopolies, anti-competitive behavior. Example: Google fined by EU for online shopping dominance abuse. Globalisation: Cross-border operations make enforcement harder and allow anti-competitive practices globally.

What are financial offences, give an example, and how has globalisation increased it?

Fraud, insider trading, money laundering, or tax evasion. Example: Lehman Brothers 2008 misleading financial reporting. Globalisation: Deregulated and cross-border financial markets enable hiding money and committing transnational fraud.

Why are white-collar and corporate crimes often under-represented in crime statistics?

• Hidden & hard to detect: Banks and corporations operate privately, making fraud or money laundering difficult to spot.

• Lack of obvious victims: Crimes like mismanaged pension funds may not have a direct, identifiable victim.

• Corporate resources: Big companies can hire expensive lawyers to cover up or fight allegations.

What is transnational organised crime?

Crime that spans multiple countries, connecting criminals across nations to exploit new opportunities created by globalisation.

How do criminal and corrupt state crimes relate to globalisation?

Castells: Globalisation enables transnational networks employing millions, often working with corrupt officials and legitimate businesses to expand crime globally.

What are the two main types of global criminal networks?

Farr:

• Established Mafias: Italian-American Mafia, Yakuza, Chinese Triads; long histories, family/ethnic connections, adapt to global opportunities.

• Newer Organised Crime Groups: Albanian groups, Colombian cartels, Russian Mafia; emerged after globalisation and collapse of Communism, form transnational networks.

What is the ‘McMafia’ concept?

Glenny: Transnational organised crime mirrors multinational corporations, operating worldwide in self-interest for profit, trafficking drugs, sex, guns, body organs, and illegal immigration.

How do transnational criminal organisations adapt to global markets?

They shift production to meet demand and reduce costs—e.g., cannabis production moved to Canada for East Coast US markets, heroin to Afghanistan, meth from Asia, cocaine from Colombia.

What is the ‘glocalisation’ of crime?

Hobbs and Dunnigham: crime operates as a local-global hybrid: networks are locally rooted but connected internationally. Individuals act as hubs linking legal and illegal activities, e.g., local drug dealers connected to global suppliers.

Why is studying crime through the lens of globalisation important?

It focuses on fast-growing, complex crime affecting both global and local levels, including transnational financial crime, cybercrime, human trafficking, and cargo theft.

What challenges exist in studying crime and globalisation?

• Crimes are secretive and complex, requiring specialist skills and international cooperation.

• Limited reliable data; researchers often rely on secondary sources.

• Research can be dangerous due to powerful criminal networks.

How does the impact of globalisation on crime vary globally?

Effects differ by country—UK crime rates have fallen, but globally:

• ~3.2 million deaths annually from alcohol/drugs.

• 450,000 drug-related deaths in 2021, rising with synthetic opioids and cocaine.