ACR101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: White-Collar Crime, Muammar Gaddafi, Summary Execution
ACR101 Week 8
State Crime
Learning Objectives
oUnderstand the complexity of state crime;
oUnderstand the history of state crime ranging from genocide to the use of torture;
oIdentify the issues associated with defining state crime;
oUnderstand the strengths and limitations of the different ways of dealing with state
crime; and
oUnderstand some of the concerns influencing our approaches to state crime in the
future.
Introduction
State crime is a difficult concept to define. The ‘state’ in this sense refers to a self-governing
entity. We could therefore equally be talking about the state of Victoria or the nation-state
of Australia. When taking a legal definition of ‘crime’, it is the state which creates the laws
that define crime. The state enforces these laws through the criminal justice system.
‘State crime’, however, is a concept used to refer to instances when the state itself commits
a crime. While it may make sense to think of a state as being capable of breaching its own
laws, it is difficult to think of ways to effectively respond to this problem. The state is
unlikely to define its own conduct as criminal, or investigate and prosecute itself for
breaching its own laws.
If the state is a ‘nation-state’, which is what most think of in relation to ‘state crime’, it is
also subject to international laws, as set out by the United Nations under various
conventions and charters. States can be found guilty of breaching international law, but
there are limited opportunities to punish these states, particularly powerful states as can be
seen with the debate as to the legitimacy of the United States and United Kingdom led war
against Iraq in 2003. While international sanctions can be imposed, there is no international
police force and limited capacity to hold nation-states accountable without the use of force,
as the recent example of the efforts to overthrow the Gaddafi regime in Libya illustrate. This
topic will examine the subject of state crime in terms of its history, definitions and future.
Types of State Crime
White collar crime
Violent crime (abuse of police power)
Environmental crime
Cyber crime
War crimes
torture
summary execution
Crimes against humanity
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