HOW DOES THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL HARM AND UNDERSTANDING RELATIONS OF POWER AID OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEXITIES OF CRIME?

Authors Avatar by shelbyh (student)

 HOW DOES THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL HARM AND UNDERSTANDING RELATIONS OF POWER AID OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEXITIES OF CRIME?

The concept of crime differs greatly between societies and social groups and locally and globally.  The influence governments have along with corporations and individuals who are powerful enough to exercise their power, enabling differing concepts of crime to increase and to interpret crime according to laws implemented by those in these powerful positions.  Criminal justice also varies within different nation states.  In exploring the complexities of crime, it is important to highlight that power protection and immunisation for those who have caused harm to the people in our societies.  Holding individuals, companies and governments accountable for their actions, takes a diverse meaning to those who have no influence in the decision making process.  The following essay looks at and explores the complex ways in which crime appears to provide a façade for everyday harms faced by society, including injuries in the work, cybercrime that can cause harm by exploiting vulnerable people and offering anonymity to the offenders, human rights abuses, corporate crime and also exploring inner city strategies that benefit those in power.

People are faced with issues of crime and violence appear daily globally via the media daily and issues of global conflicts are one of the main scenes we all see like the war in Afghanistan and Iraq and even riots as in Indonesia (Muncie, Talbot and Walters,2009 p.20) or even closer to home in London last year.  Years of human rights abuses has seen the emergence of people willing to stand up for their rights to governments to have their voices heard.  An example of this can be seen in Libya, Gambia and India where activists have been arrested by their governments for advocating free speech (Muncie et al p. 20). In Iran, Georgia and Kosovo reports of beatings or imprisonment by repressive governmental regimes. (Amnesty International, 2008). Crimes committed against the people in these countries were exposed and they demanded change.  The torture and the terror which had become part of their lives did not any longer put off people from demanding democracy and the right for better conditions in their work places, decent  pay and the facility to speak freely. (Muncie et al 2009,p. 20). Some Western companies have been linked with many countries where human rights violations are seen to be happening for example China, which is the largest exporter of goods to the west and has a reputation for poor human rights environments and have at times ignored requests from Western countries to improve this situation in China. These leaders have manipulated global companies into working in accordance within their strict information controls.  The internet search engine giant, Google, moved into China and agreed to block particular sites to ensure certain information could not reach the Chinese people via the internet. (Lessig, 2006, p.80, quoted in Neal (2009)).  This did not despite this action stop Western companies from carrying out business with the Chinese.  This just shows how little restricting internet access worked and governments using their power cannot control or censor free speech.

Join now!

The internet however is a valuable source of information for many especially today in social networking but it can also be a valuable source of those who use it for illegal and fraudulent activities. The speed the cyberspace information can be distributed and the vast number of people it reaches can attract those intent on causing harm.  The agencies governments employ to police the internet in order to protect the vulnerable in society have reported an increase in child pornography and online fraud. (Neal, 2009).

The term ‘cybercrime’ is becoming more widely used and the anonymity it offers and ...

This is a preview of the whole essay