Globalisation of crime

Beck: Risk consciousness

• Globalisation has produced new insecurities and a mentality of risk consciousness

• Risk is seen as global, e.g. immigration for work means countries feel anxiety about border control

• Media fuels moral panics about supposed threat

• Results in increased social control e.g. CCTV, airport control since 9/11

Taylor: Effect of capitalism

• Ruling class: elite groups, corporate crimes, tax evasion

• Working class: large TNCs switch manufacturing to low-wage countries, with job insecurity, unemployment and poverty leading people to commit crime, as they cannot reach it legitimately due to relative deprivation

• Not just affecting global crime, but also local crime

Rothe & Friedrichs: Crimes of globalisation

• Looked at international financial organisations, e.g. World Bank, IMF, who allocated loans to countries. Impose ‘structural adjustment programmes on poor countries as a condition for the loans provided

• e.g. require government to cut spending on health and education, to practice publicly owned services, industry and resources

• Provides conditions for crime e.g. Rwanda structural adjustment led to mass unemployment and economic basis for genocide

Castells: Global criminal economy

• Worldwide network of crime, worth billions annually

• Exploits globalisation for profit through crimes such as drug/human trafficking, cyber crime, arms dealing, money laundering etc.

Hobbs & Dunningham: Glocal crime

• Criminal organisations made up of individuals with contacts around world acting as hub for others wanting to commit crime

• Crime still rooted in local context, but with international links, e.g. drugs trade is local, but has global connections

Winlow: Bouncers in Sunderland

• Globalisation and de-industrialisation has resulted in a crisis of masculinity, men get jobs as bouncers, still showing masculinity

• Creates opportunities for men to get involved with more crime e.g. drug dealing etc

Glenny: McMafia

• Criminal organisations operate like global companies due to globalisation

• e.g. groups like the Russian mafia become famous for being extremely violent and efficient (e.g. McDonalds)

• Local gangs in other places use ‘Russian mafia’ brand name to scare off rivals

• This allowed local gangs access to global supply of drugs, crime, human trafficking