Globalisation and Crime

What is globalisation? McGrew (1992): Globalisation is the process whereby events, decisions and activities in one part of the world have significant consequences for people on the other side of the world: “Nowadays goods, capital, people, knowledge, images, communications, crime, culture, pollutants, drugs, fashions and belief all readily flow across territorial boundaries”. Basically, globalisation is the process of Western culture influencing areas of the third world in all aspects, and in return their culture, to a degree, has an impact on us.

Globalisation and Crime. Ian Taylor (1997) states that global capitalism allows multinational corporations to move from country to country in the search for profitability. This has reduced job security and increased unemployment, especially in the manufacturing industry. Taylor believes this has lead to some working class men to turn to crime. He also states that problems like these have led to the development of an underclass in America, but unlike Murray, he argues that this is due to material deprivation instead of a dependancy culture.

A good example to support Taylor’s argument is when Kraft took over the Cadbury company in 2010, and moved the factories over to Poland where labour was cheaper. As a result, all of the Cadbury workers in England were made redundant.

Drug Trafficking The drug trade was the first illegal sector to maximise profits in a globalised world. Drugs are produced cheaply in South America and the Middle East and are transported to the West via well established routes. Globalisation has made drug trafficking far quicker and easier, and detection less likely. The human cost is devastating, it has been estimated that illegal drug use is responsible for 52,000 American deaths each year. It is also worth mentioning that within the communities of this trade, vulnerable people are exploited.

People Trafficking People Traffciking has happened throughout history (the slave trade in the 18 th Century) but Globalisation has made the buisness eaiser and more profitable. Adults can be transported for prostitution, forced labour and the removal of organs. Children are also trafficked, for prostitution, illegal adoption, forced marriage and as soldiers. Traffickers use deception, coercion, fraud or abduction.

An example of people trafficking in the news would be the Chinese cockle picker disaster in Morecambe Illegal immigrants were found dead on the Bay. They had been swept up by the tide due to their employers failing to inform them the right time for when the tide was coming in. It was known that they were living in squalor, and paid an inadequate amount to survive on, which was £5 for every 25Kg of cockles they collected.

Cybercrime Cybercrime is one of the fastest-growing criminal activities in the developed world. It includes financial scams, computer hacking, virus attacks, creating websites that promote racial and religious hatred, stalking by , and identity theft. Cybercrime has been made possible by the increased reliance on computers in homes and businesses, and by the spread of the internet. It has been estimated that a cybercrime takes place every 10 seconds in the UK. It is also worth noting that the spread of the internet on a national and global level has been a major contribution to the spread and creation of child pornography and the growth of large paedophile rings. Here is an example of websites that spread notions of intolerance and hatred: ( This is the Westboro Baptist church, a small religious community based in the deep south of America.