globalisation & crime - notes

Definition: widening & speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness

involves the process of deterritorialisation - an increasing number of social, political, & economical activities are no longer attached to specific countries but are transnational & stretch across the globe

global crime

types

  • international drug trade - worth over $300 billion per year - drugs are often cultivated in third world countries which have large impoverished populations, so drugs is an attractive trade as it requires little investment but commands high prices

  • human trafficking - the illegal movement & smuggling of people for a variety of reasons (organs, exploitation, sex, slavery) - the NCA estimated that as many as 13,000 people in the UK are victims of trafficking (2014)

  • cyber-crime - fraud, terrorism, financial scams

why global crimes occur

  • marxists

global capitalism - globalisation has increased inequalities, as companies move production to low-income countries → unemployment, job insecurity, poverty in some areas - as a result, individuals may turn to crime in order to survive or gain financial success - (economic decline & a lack of opportunities push individuals towards illegitimate means of survival)

e.g. Detroit - experienced major job losses when car companies moved productions abroad → economic decline & high levels of crime (drug use & violent crime)

  • criticism - over emphasises economic factors & doesn't explain why many people in poverty do not turn to crime

  • Bauman

individualism - individuals are now responsible for their own success & can no longer rely on the government

the media promotes wealth & material success as key goals in society - encourages individuals to prioritise personal gain over community responsibility - as a result some may turn to crime as a way of achieving these goals

e.g. international drug trade - worth over $300 billion per year - drugs are often cultivated in third world countries which have large impoverished populations, so drugs is an attractive trade as it requires little investment but commands high prices

  • criticism - it is difficult to research global crime & may exaggerate the impact of globalisation, as crime rates have fallen in some countries

green crime

  • transgressive green criminology

the term green crime was first used in criminology to describe the actions that break laws protecting the environment - however, the same harmful environmental action may be defined as illegal in some countries but not in others

Wolf & White - suggest we should adopt a more transgressive approach - ‘any action that harms the physical environment &/or human/nonhuman animals within it even if no law has been broken’

e.g. Volkswagen Emissions Scandal

  • global risk society

Beck - modern industrialisation has created new, manufactured, uncontrollable risks

  1. these risks do not respect national boarders - a disaster in one country can have consequences worldwide

  2. many environmental crimes (deforestation) do not have immediate visible effects - instead they create long-term harm which makes them harder to regulate

  3. the poorest communities are greatly affected by environmental harm, despite contributing the least to these problems

  • green crime offenders

Beck, Wolf & White - identify 2 main groups who commit green crime

  1. businesses - responsible for a bulk of land, air, & water pollution through emissions & dumping of toxic materials, & breaching health & safety regulations

  2. state & governments - often alongside businesses - warfare is the largest institutional polluter & creates mass environmental destruction