State crime

Transgressive criminology definition

A crime that is not against he law but one that causes serious harm

Green and Ward

Defines state crime as ‘illegal and deviant activities perpetrated by or with the complicity or state agencies.’

Rwanda

Genocide between the Hutet’s and Tutsi’’

Two tribes - Hutet’s = Majority and Tutsi’’ were the minority with the power and importance

when the Hutu president was killed in a plane crash it began a genocide which killed one million people

the Tutsi government did little to help

State crime

Often covered by the state

difficult to prosecute

Many not be against the law

MAny people are involved

Lots of victims

Mclaughin

4 categories of state crime

Political control - Bribes e.g partygate

crimes by security/ police- War crimes and torture e.g Rwanda

Economic crimes- mismanagement of funds e.g greenfield- cheap cladding

Social and cultural- Homosexuality being illegal, women being oppressed

Kelman and Hamilton

crime and obedience- rules aren’t being broken but that there is a conformity to the rules, Authorisation , dehumanisation, routinization e,g the Holocaust

Cohen

Technique of neutralisation

It didn’t happen- it did happen but it was something else- It did happen but was necessary e.g PArtygate

Cohen

State relabels crime as something else or excuse them as regrettable but justifiable - e.g illegal tortures and detentions of terrorists is justifiable as they deny they are victims , and they show no regard for human life