Globalisation allowed transnational organised crime to flourish - eg, trafficking of arms, drugs and people. We live in global risk society where human-made threats include large environmental damage. Green criminology adopts ecocentric view based on harm rather than the law, and identified both primary and secondary green crimes. The state also contributes to green crime through the exploitation of health and safety laws, as an example.
As a result of globalisation, there is a global criminal economy worth over £1 trillion per annum:
- Trafficking of arms, women, children, body parts, cultural artefacts, nuclear materials and endangered species.
- Smuggling illegal immigrants.
- Sex tourism.
- Cyber-crimes.
- Green crimes.
- International terrorism.
- The drugs trade.
- Smuggling of legal goods.
Globalisation created crimes: it has allowed corporations to switch manufacturing to low-wage countries (producing job insecurity, unemployment and poverty) and has also created inequality which leads to increase in crime due to material deprivation.
McMafia - organised crime groups that do illegal activities across countries. Emerged in Russia following fall of communism. Traces origins of transnational organised crime to breakup of soviet union, creating deregulation of global markets.
1) Traditional criminology - defined by criminal law, not concerned with green criminology.
2) Green criminology - subject of criminology is any action that harms the physical environment, humans or non-human animals in it.
1) Anthropocentric = human-centred approach. Humans have rights to use world’s resources and dominate nature.
2) Ecocentric = humans and nature are interdependent. Green criminologists see humans and environment as liable to exploitation.
Crimes that result directly from destruction of the earth’s resources:
- Crimes of air pollution.
- Crimes of deforestation.
- Crimes of species decline and animal abuse.
- Crimes of water pollution.
Crime that grows out of rules aimed at preventing or regulating environmental disasters:
- State violence against oppositional groups.
- Hazardous waste and organised crime.
- Environmental discrimination.
- Political crimes (eg, corruption and censorship).
- Crimes by security and police forces (eg, genocide, torture and disappearances of dissidences).
- Economic crimes (eg, volation of health and safety laws).
- Social and cultural crime (eg, institutional racism).