Crimes of the powerful
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Contents
Introduction 4
Learning Outcomes 5
Critical criminology and crimes of the powerful 6
Defining crimes of the powerful 6
Dominant ideologies 7
Researching crimes of the powerful 8
Research, theory and crimes of the powerful 9
Conclusion 10
Keep on learning 11
References 12
Further reading 12
Acknowledgements 12
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Introduction
Introduction
This free course examines crimes of the powerful, examining the complexities and
barriers associated with setting new criminological research agendas by considering the
difficulties associated with conducting research on crimes of the powerful. It asks you to
think critically about how knowledge is constructed and contested, how we define what is
‘researchable’, and how we know what we know about the world. The project of
knowledge-making is, in part, reliant on questioning and critiquing the status quo (Said,
1994, cited in Russell, 1997). New knowledges and ways of thinking can be significantly
advanced when accepted or conventional understandings of the world or a particular
phenomenon are challenged or differently conceived. Focusing on crimes of the powerful
highlights the role that power plays in the setting of research agendas, knowledge making
and in establishing the status quo.
This OpenLearn course provides a sample of postgraduate study in Criminology.
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Learning Outcomes
After studying this course, you should be able to:
l outline the importance of the concept of power in understanding criminological research agendas
l define various categories of ‘crimes of the powerful’
l describe how researching the powerful can reshape the boundaries and goals of critical criminology
l provide examples of the barriers that make it difficult to research crimes of the powerful.
Critical criminology and crimes of the powerful
Critical criminology and crimes of the
powerful
Critical criminologists have been instrumental in creating new research agendas. Their
general commitment to seeking out alternative voices and perspectives, along with their
tendency to question dominant ideologies and taken-for-granted structures and
assumptions has opened up new areas of criminological enquiry. Critical criminologists
have long pursued research agendas that challenged the status quo. One of the crucial
ways in which this has been done is through examinations of the crimes and harms
committed by those in society who wield social, political or economic power. Such
research has endeavoured to call into question why it is that some harmful actions are
viewed as ‘criminal’ while others are not. At the same time, research agendas that have
sought to examine the actions of the powerful have simultaneously called into question
claims about ‘neutrality’, ‘objectivity’, and ‘value-free’ research methods. That is, such
pursuits have shed light on the dominant forces, ideologies and structures of society that
seemingly ‘neutrally’ shape social life.
Defining crimes of the powerful
Critical criminologists have endeavoured to broaden the narrow frame within which crime
is often defined and considered, which has focused heavily on street, property, or
‘stranger’ crimes. Strands of critical criminology have sought to examine crimes and
harms perpetrated not by the most disadvantaged in society but by those who hold
significant social, economic or political power. These ‘crimes of the powerful’ encompass
a range of criminal or harmful activities. They may be perpetrated by whole corporations
and corporate elites or state bodies and state representatives. Within the broad category
of crimes of the powerful some critical criminologists would also include ‘family violence’,
which may be founded on, for example, patriarchal ideological assumptions, and ‘hate
crimes’, which may be founded on, for example, racist or homophobic ideological
assumptions.
Crimes of the powerful
White-collar crime
Any criminal offence committed by a person of relatively high status or who holds relatively
high levels of trust where the offence is made possible by their legitimate employment.
Examples include: fraud, embezzlement, tax violations, workplace theft.
Corporate crime
Illegal acts or omissions that are the result of deliberate decision making or culpable
negligence within a legitimate formal organisation. Examples include: financial crimes,
crimes against consumers, crimes associated with employment relationships (including
those related to employee safety), crimes against the environment.
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Dominant ideologies
State crime
Forms of criminality that are committed by states and governments in order to further a
variety of domestic and foreign policies. State crime can be seen as falling into four main
categories (McLaughlin, 2001, p. 290)
l political criminality, including: corruption, intimidation, censorship
l criminality associated with security and police forces, including: warmaking,
genocide, ethnic cleansing, torture, terrorism
l criminality associated with economic activities, including: monopolisation prac-
tices, health and safety violations, illegal collaboration with multinational
corporations
l criminality at cultural and societal levels, including: material immiseration of
sections of the community, institutional racism, cultural vandalism.
Family violence
Forms of physical or mental violence in the life cycle of family members: it can include
physical abuse and neglect of children, partner domestic violence, or elder abuse. Although
family violence is in some ways a different order of violence than other crimes of the
powerful, it is included here because its examination requires consideration of the way
social structure and convention can hide or legitimate serious harms against human and
social lives.
Hate crimes
A criminal act that is motivated by hatred, bias or prejudice against a person or property
based on the actual or perceived race, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation of the
victim.
Key theorists
Key theorists who have conducted research or written about crimes of the powerful include:
Stanley Cohen; Hazel Croall; Frank Pearce; Edwin Sutherland; Steve Tombs; Dave Whyte
(Source: adapted from Mclaughlin, E. and Muncie, J. (eds), 2001)
Dominant ideologies
One of the central starting points for those who research crimes of the powerful is the
importance of first examining and then questioning dominant ideologies. ‘Dominant
ideologies’ can be defined as ‘shared ideas or beliefs which serve to justify the interests of
dominant groups’ (Giddens, 1997, p. 583). Some examples of ‘types’ of ideologies might
include socialist, patriarchal, liberal, racist, or capitalist ideologies. The related concept of
‘ideological hegemony’, first put forward by Antonio Gramsci (1971), is of central
importance too. ‘Ideological hegemony ‘conveys the notion that a particular ideology (that
is, a system of values, attitudes, beliefs and morality) can be reflected throughout a
society, permeating institutions, cultural ideas and social relationships so that it is more
difficult, though never impossible, for alternative ideologies to achieve similar levels of
influence.
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Researching crimes of the powerful
In part, much of the critical criminological endeavour has attempted to identify the
hegemonic tenets of society and to question the sets of values, attitudes and underlying
moral assumptions on which they are based. Examining and reporting on the crimes of
the powerful is a key way in which critical researchers can present alternative ideological
positions to those that dominate. Critical criminologists Steve Tombs and Dave Whyte
argue that ‘those who research the crimes of the powerful have to understand accurately
the networks of power that operate in a given society’ (2003, p. 224). Such networks of
power flow from political, economic, industrial, institutional and even familial structures
and social divisions.
Researching crimes of the powerful
In ‘Unmasking the crimes of the powerful’ (2003), critical criminologists, Steve Tombs and
Dave Whyte examine the practical difficulties associated with researching crimes of the
powerful. In particular, they illustrate how the activities of researching critically and
speaking with a dissenting voice can be accompanied by significant challenges. Indeed,
the relative lack of significant amounts of research on corporate or state crime, argue
Tombs and Whyte, is no coincidence.
Tombs and Whyte outline a number of barriers that have made it difficult to research the
powerful.
1. Funders of research often set research agendas, which may consequently limit or
prescribe the directions of research activity. This has a number of subsidiary
consequences, such as the drive for evaluative or policy-led research. It may also mean
that research only gets commissioned to answer questions of short-term practical utility,
resulting in less research that is concerned with ‘academic’ questions about broader
theoretical or social processes. Furthermore, as universities become more concerned
with increasing their research funding revenues, academic pursuits may be channelled
solely into avenues that seek to satisfy the interests of particular research funders. This
may call into question the extent to which academic freedom is able to flourish.
2. In relation to the specific issue of researching corporate crime, it is difficult to secure
funding for this research area in particular. Private corporations are not generally
interested in funding research that may produce results critical of their practice.
3. Even if funding is somehow secured or a researcher is in a position to fund the research
him or herself, the difficulties of gaining access to powerful corporations or state bodies
can prevent the research from taking place.
4. If research in these areas does yield evidence of harm or impropriety on the part of the
state, a corporation, or individual representatives of either, it can be difficult for critical
researchers to disseminate their research to the public. They may face opposition from
the bodies they have researched, who have little difficulty raising the resources – be they
financial or in the shape of alternative ‘expert evidence’ – to discredit, censor or otherwise
challenge the research findings.
Tombs and Whyte argue that the paucity of research on the powerful challenges the
supposedly ‘value-neutral’ position of university and state-funded research councils.
Further, they point out that ‘much of the research conducted in western liberal
democracies … is highly partisan in the first place’ (p. 230). Tombs and Whyte illuminate
the fact that ‘a lack of objectivity is a feature of all forms of research, despite the fact that
this is rarely acknowledged by those who conduct official research … The historical
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Research, theory and crimes of the powerful
development of the social sciences has been inseparable from partisanship, never value-
neutral …’ (p. 229–30). This returns us to the critical project of questioning dominant
ideologies and the embedded nature of power structures in the way we think about social
problems, crime and justice, as the following audio illustrates.
Research, theory and crimes of the
powerful
In this audio interview, Steve Tombs discusses some of the tensions and difficulties
associated with researching crimes of the powerful that he and Dave Whyte examined in
‘Unmasking the crimes of the powerful’. The interview highlights the importance of power
in constructions of harm and in defining what is ‘criminal’. To do so, he draws on
experience researching and writing about a particleboard factory in Liverpool owned by
Sonae Industria.
Working with local community members and campaigning groups, Tombs and Whyte
sought to raise awareness of the harm and health concerns associated with the operation
of this factory, but their research was challenged and they were threatened with a libel suit
by Sonae. This example provides a useful illustration of the way the powerful can
sometimes use their influence and resources both to challenge and to silence, thereby
preventing scrutiny of harmful practices. Sometimes it is only when major incidents occur
that wider public and political attentions are drawn to such practices. As Tombs suggests,
by thinking more carefully about the importance of power, the way it operates, and the
considerable resources that the powerful have at their disposal, the imbalance of criminal
justice and problems of social harm become more clearly observable.
You should now listen to the audio below, ‘Research, theory and crimes of the powerful:
an interview with Steve Tombs’.
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Conclusion
Figure 1 Steve Tombs
Audio content is not available in this format.
Research, theory and crimes of the powerful: an interview with Steve Tombs
Conclusion
By thinking more carefully about the importance of power, the way it operates, and the
considerable resources that the powerful have at their disposal, the imbalance of criminal
justice and problems of ‘crime’ and social harm become more clearly observable.
Review Questions
l What are the difficulties of conducting critical criminological research?
l How does researching the powerful reshape the boundaries and goals of the field of
criminology?
l What are some of the current dominant discourses in criminology, criminal justice,
and society more generally, and how might they be challenged?
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Keep on learning
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References
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References
Becker, H. (1967) ‘Whose side are we on?’ Social Problems, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 239–47.
Tombs, S. and Whyte, D. (eds) (2003a) Unmasking the Crimes of the Powerful:
Scrutinizing States and Corporations, New York, Peter Lang.
Tombs, S. and Whyte, D. (2003b) ‘Unmasking the crimes of the powerful’, Critical
Criminology, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 217–236.
Whyte, D. (2009) Crimes of the Powerful: A Reader, Maidenhead, Open University Press.
Further reading
Hillyard, P. and Tombs, S. (2007) ‘From crime to social harm’, Crime, Law and Social
Change, vol. 48, no. 1–2, pp. 9–25
Lynch, M. and Stretesky, M. (2010) ‘Global warming, global crime: A green criminological
perspective’, in White, R. (ed) Global Environmental Harm – Criminological Perspectives,
Cullompton, Willan
Ruggiero, V. and South, N. (2010) ‘Green Criminology’, Special Edition of Critical
Criminology – An International Journal, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 251-262.
Smeulers, A.L. and Haveman, R.H. (eds) (2008) Supranational Criminology: Towards a
Criminology of International Crimes, Antwerp, Intersentia.
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Acknowledgements
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