Criminology and Penology
Schools
Chicago School
Classical School  · Conflict Criminology
Environmental Criminology
Feminist School  · Frankfurt School
Italian School
Left Realism  · Marxist Criminology
Neo-Classical School  · Positivist School
Postmodernist School
Right Realism
Statistical School
Theories
Anomie
Differential Association Theory
Deviance  · Labelling Theory
Rational Choice Theory
Social Control Theory
Social Learning Theory
Symbolic Interactionism  · Victimology
Types of crimes
Blue-collar crime
Corporate crime  · Organised crime
Political crime  · Public order crime
Public order crime case law in the U.S.
State crime  · State-corporate crime
Teenage crime
White-collar crime
Criminologists
Cesare Beccaria  · Jeremy Bentham
James Fyfe  · Cesare Lombroso
Michael Maltz  · Robert King Merton
Edwin Sutherland
Penology
Deterrence  · Prison
Prison reform  · Prisoner abuse
Prisoners' rights  · Rehabilitation
Recidivism  · Retribution
Utilitarianism
See also Sociology
See also Wikibooks:Social Deviance

In criminology, state crime is activity or failures to act that break the state's own criminal law or public international law. For these purposes, Ross (2000b) defines a "state" as the elected and appointed officials, the bureaucracy, and the institutions, bodies and organisations comprising the apparatus of the government. Initially, the state was the agency of deterrence, using the threat of punishment as a utilitarian tool to shape the behaviour of its citizens. Then, it became the mediator, interpreting society's wishes for conflict resolution. Theorists then identified the state as the "victim" in victimless crimes. Now, theorists are examining the role of the state as one of the possible perpetrators of crime (Ross, 2000b) whether directly or in the context of state-corporate crime. Image File history File links Scale_of_justice. ... Criminology is the study of crime as a social phenomenon, including the causes and consequences of crime, criminal behavior, as well as the development of, and impact of laws. ... Penology (from the Latin poena, punishment) comprises penitentiary science: that concerned with the processes devised and adopted for the punishment, repression, and prevention of crime, and the treatment of prisoners. ... In sociology, the Chicago School refers to the first major attempt to study the urban environment by combined efforts of theory and ethnographic fieldwork in Chicago. ... The Classical School in criminology is usually a reference to the eighteenth century work during the Enlightenment by the utilitarian and social contract philosophers Jeremy Bentham and Cesare Beccaria. ... Conflict criminology Largely based on the writings of Karl Marx, conflict criminology claims that crime is inevitable in capitalist societies, as invariably certain groups will become marganalised and unequal. ... Environmental criminology focuses on criminal patterns within particular built environments and analyzes the impacts of these external variables on people’s cognitive behaviour. ... Max Horkheimer (front left), Theodor Adorno (front right), and Jürgen Habermas in the background, right, in 1965 at Heidelberg The Frankfurt School is a school of neo-Marxist social theory (which is more akin to anarchism than communism), social research, and philosophy. ... Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) and two of his Italian disciples, Enrico Ferri (1856–1929) and Raffaele Garofalo (1851–1934), founded what became known as the Italian school of criminology. ... Marxist criminology is one of the schools of criminology. ... In criminology, the Neo-Classical School continues the traditions of the Classical School within the framework of Right Realism. ... In criminology, Right Realism (also known as New Right Realism, Neo-Classicism or Neo-Conservatism) is the ideological polar opposite of Left Realism. ... Anomie, in contemporary English, means the absence of any kind of rule, law, principle or order. ... Differental association - A theory developed by Edwin Sutherland that holds that through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminal behavior. ... Deviant behavior is behavior that is a recognized violation of social norms. ... Labeling Theory is a sociological approach to explaining how criminal behavior is perpetuated by the police and other labelers. The theory hypothesizes that the labels applied to individuals influence their behavior, particularly that the application of negative labels (such as criminal or felon) promote deviant behavior. ... Rational choice theory is a way of looking at deliberations between a number of potential courses of action, in which rationality of one form or another is used either to decide which course of action would be the best to take, or to predict which course of action actually will... asss This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Observational learning or social learning refers to learning that occurs as a function of observing, retaining and replicating behaviour observed in others. ... Symbolic interactionism is a sociological perspective which examines how individuals and groups interact, focusing on the creation of personal identity through interaction with others. ... Victimology is the study of why certain people are victims of crime and how lifestyles affect the chances that a certain person will fall victim to a crime. ... Blue-collar crime is regarded as consisting of violent crimes such as murder, rape, kidnapping, and vandalism, as well as things like shoplifting and burglary -- as opposed to white-collar crime. ... Corporate crime refers to criminal practices by individuals that have the legal authority to speak for a corporation or company. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... In the standard sense of the phrase, a political crime is an action deemed illegal by a government in order to control real or imagined threats to its survival, at the expense of a range of human rights and freedoms. ... In criminology public order crime is defined by Siegel (2004) as ...crime which involves acts that interfere with the operations of society and the ability of people to function efficiently, i. ... In criminology, public order crime case law in the United States is essential to understanding how the courts interpret the policy of laws where the moral and social order of the state appears to be threatened by clearly identified behavior. ... In criminology, the concept of state-corporate crime refers to crimes that result from the relationship between the policies of the state and the policies and practices of commercial corporations. ... White-collar crimes (a term coined by Edwin Sutherland in 1939) or business crimes are those crimes specifically performed by white collar employees. ... Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria (or the Marchese de Beccaria-Bonesana) (March 11, 1738 - November 28, 1794) was an Italian philosopher and politician. ... Jeremy Bentham (IPA: ) (February 15, 1748 – June 6, 1832) was an English gentleman, jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. ... James J. Fyfe (February 16, 1942 - November 12, 2005) was a well-known criminologist and Police Training Director. ... Cesare Lombroso Cesare Lombroso (Verona, November 6, 1835 - Turin, October 19, 1909) was a historical figure in modern criminology, and the founder of the Italian Positivist School of criminology. ... Michael D. Maltz (born in Brooklyn, New York on December 18, 1938) is an emeritus professor at University of Illinois at Chicago in criminal justice, and adjunct professor and researcher at Ohio State University. ... This article is about the sociologist. ... From The American System of Criminal Justice by George F. Cole and Christopher E. Smith, Tenth Edition, Page 14: Crimes cimitted in the course of business were first described by crimonologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939, when he developed the concept of white-collar crime. ... Deterrence ALOHA!! is a means of controlling a persons behavior through negative motivational influences, namely fear of punishment. ... Prison reform is the steady improvement of conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system. ... Prisoner abuse is the mistreatment of persons while they are under arrest or incarcerated. ... The movement for Prisoners rights is based on the principle that prisoners, even though they are deprived of liberty, are still entitled to basic human rights. ... This theory of punishment is based on the notion that punishment is to be inflicted on a offender so as to reform him, or rehabilitate him so as to make his re-integration into society easier. ... Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... Criminology is the study of crime as a social phenomenon, including the causes and consequences of crime, criminal behavior, as well as the development of, and impact of laws. ... In the criminal law, an omission or failure to act will only constitute an actus reus (Latin for guilty act) and give rise to liability when the law imposes a duty to act and the defendant is in breach of that duty. ... A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of common law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. ... International law deals with the relationships between states, or between persons or entities in different states. ... Deterrence ALOHA!! is a means of controlling a persons behavior through negative motivational influences, namely fear of punishment. ... sexual abuse is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a wrongdoer as a response to something unwanted that the wrongdoer has done. ... Utilitarianism is a suggested theoretical framework for morality, law and politics, based on quantitative maximisation of some definition of utility for society or humanity. ... In criminology public order crime is defined by Siegel (2004) as ...crime which involves acts that interfere with the operations of society and the ability of people to function efficiently, i. ... In criminology, the concept of state-corporate crime refers to crimes that result from the relationship between the policies of the state and the policies and practices of commercial corporations. ...

Green & Ward (2004) adopt Weber's Thesis of a sovereign “state” as possessing a monopoly on the right to use force. Thus, the criteria for determining whether a state is "deviant" will draw on international norms and standards of behaviour for achieving the state’s usual operating goals. One of those standards will be whether the state respects human rights in the exercise of its powers. But, one of the definitional difficulties is that the states themselves define what is criminal within their own territories, and as sovereign powers, they are not accountable to the international community unless they submit to international jurisdiction generally, or criminal jurisdiction in particular. This article needs to be wikified. ... ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... In law, jurisdiction refers to the aspect of a any unique legal authority as being localized within boundaries. ... Criminal jurisdiction is a term used in the law of criminal procedure to describe the power of a court to hear a case brought by the state accusing a criminal defendant of a violation of the law of the geographic area in which the court is located. ...

Discussion

As international crimes, a state may engage in state terror and terrorism, torture, war crimes, and genocide. Both internationally and nationally, there may be corruption, state-corporate crime, and organized crime. Within its territorial borders, some crimes are either the result of situations where the state is not the direct criminal actor, e.g. arising from natural disasters or through the agency of bodies such as the police. More usually, the state is directly involved in excessive secrecy and cover-ups, disinformation, and unaccountability (including tax evasion by officials) which often reflect upper-class and nonpluralistic interests, and infringe human rights (Ross, 2000a). One of the key issues is the extent to which, if at all, state crime can be controlled. Often state crimes are revealed by an investigative news agency resulting in scandals but, even among first world democratic states, it is difficult to maintain genuinely independent control over the criminal enforcement mechanisms and few senior officers of the state are held personally accountable. When the citizens of second and third world countries which may be of a more authoritarian nature, seek to hold their leaders accountable, the problems become more acute. Public opinion, media attention, and public protests, whether violent or nonviolent, may all be criminalised as political crimes and suppressed, while critical international comments are of little real value. International crime can be: Crime that crosses international borders, and usually committed by international criminal groups. ... The exact definition of terrorism is highly controversial. ... The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg is an infamous and rarely used torture device. ... A war crime is a punishable offense, under international law, for violations of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... Genocide is defined by the JERRFGGHH and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide]] (CPPCG) article 2 as any of the following acts part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: Killing members of the group; Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; Deliberately inflicting... In criminology, the concept of state-corporate crime refers to crimes that result from the relationship between the policies of the state and the policies and practices of commercial corporations. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ... In the standard sense of the phrase, a political crime is an action deemed illegal by a government in order to control real or imagined threats to its survival, at the expense of a range of human rights and freedoms. ...

Barak (1991) examines recent history through Reaganism and Thatcherism which led to a decline in the provision of social services and an increase in public security functions. In turn, this created the opportunity for injustices and state crimes involving the suppression of democratic functions within the state. As Johns and Johnson (1994) note, "The concern of the U.S. policy elites is not, therefore, with the establishment or protection of democracy; it is with the establishment of capitalism world-wide and with the unimpeded control of resources and markets" (p7) "Panama is an especially good example of how the rollback strategy involves subverting or overthrowing not only governments that are socialist or left-wing but the governments of countries that seek full independence from the economic, political, or military influence of the United States" (pp9/10) But, in terms of accountability, they argue that the coverage of the invasion demonstrated "just how subservient the corporate media had become to the political elite in the United States" (p63) Hence, even in democratic countries, it can be difficult to hold political leaders accountable, whether politically or legally, because access to reliable factual information can be limited. Thatcherism is the system of political thought attributed to the governments of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. ...

Within the context of state-corporate crime, Green and Ward (2004) examine how the debt repayment schemes in developing countries place such a financial burden on states that they often collude with corporations offering prospects of capital growth. Such collusion frequently entails the softening of environmental and other regulations. The debt service obligation can also exacerbate political instability in countries where the legitimacy of state power is questioned. Such political volatility leads states to adopt clientelistic or patrimonialist patterns of governance, fostering organized crime, corruption, and authoritarianism. In some third world countries, this political atmosphere has encouraged repression and the use of torture. Exceptionally, genocide has occurred.

References

• Barak, G. (ed.). (1991). Crimes by the capitalist state: An introduction to state criminality. Albany: State University of New York Press.
• Chambliss, W. (1989). "State-organized crime". Criminology, 27, 183-208
• Cohen, S. (2002). "Human Rights and Crimes of the State: The Culture of Denial" in Criminological Perspectives, 2nd Edition. (E. McLaughlin, J. Muncie and G. Hughes eds.). London: Sage.
• Doig, A. (1996). "From Lynskey to Nolan: The Corruption of British Politics and Public Service", Journal of Law and Society, Vol.23, No.1, pp36-56.
• Green, Penny & Ward, Tony. (2004) State Crime: Governments, Violence and Corruption. London: Pluto Press.
• Johns, Christina Jacqueline & Johnson, P. Ward (1994). State Crime, The Media, And The Invasion of Panama. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.
• Kramer, R. C. (1994). "State violence and violent crime". Peace Review, 6(2), pp171-175
• Ross, Jeffrey Ian (ed.). (2000a). Controlling State Crime, 2nd edition, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
• Ross, Jeffrey Ian (ed.). (2000b). Varieties of State Crime and Its Control. Monsey, NJ: Criminal Justice Press.
• Transparency International. Global Corruption Report. 2003 [1]