Types of State Crime

State Crime:

• Crime is a social construct and as such varies from state to state

• Many state crimes are legal in that nation, at the time they are committed

• Sociologists have often adopted a zemiological approach- based on the consensus of Western norms and values

• State crimes can be defined as actions taken by the state or its agents against its own citizens that break national or international law

• Other sociologists argue that we should look at acts that violate an individual’s human rights- regardless of whether a nation considers the act to be legal

Types of State Crime:

• McLaughlin (2001) suggested four main categories of state crime

  • Political criminality

  • Crimes of state security or police

  • Economic crimes

  • Criminality at social and cultural levels

Political Criminality:

• Corruption and censorship of dissenting voices are examples of political criminality

• Forms of clientism, where the government places the needs of corporations above the welfare of their citizens are forms of state crime

• Award of PPE contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic has been under scrutiny as many linked to Conservative Party donors - other contracts awarded without parliamentary scrutiny

State Security and Police Crimes:

• Crimes against the public by the agents of the security forces, armed forces and the police

• Includes violence and deaths in custody, unlawful imprisonment, unlawful killing by state operatives, persecution of groups in society and genocide

• Includes torture of prisoners - UK and USA have been complicit in the torture of terrorism suspects during the 'war on terror'

Economic Crimes:

• Rise of state-corporate crime with the increased privatisation of services

• Government subcontract activities to private companies who act on behalf of the state sector, yet deviate from the law

• The government remains liable for the actions of their contractors, yet often chooses to legitimise the actions of these companies

Crime at social and cultural levels:

• Crimes of discrimination against one or more groups in society

• Some Eastern European states actively oppress the rights of LGBTQ communities in their nation

• Some African and Middle Eastern nations have strict laws surrounding sexuality and the conduct of different genders

• Historic segregation of different ethnic groups

Evaluations:

• Defining legal activities in one nation as being a state crime can be seen as the imposition of Western values - crime is a social construction

• Crimes committed by the state are often legitimised based upon the need for the action - e.g. 'interests of national security'

• The influence of religious beliefs in some forms of discrimination is seen as an appeal to a higher power