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State crimes and state harms: a tale of two definitional frameworks

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Abstract

Criminologists have long debated the issue of how to define crime, and hence, the scope of criminological inquiry. For years, some critical criminologists have argued for expanded definitions of crime that include harmful behaviors of the state that may not be officially defined as criminal. Other critical criminologists have argued that existing legal frameworks may be used to study varieties of state crime, and that defining the harmful actions of the state as criminal is important to help mobilize public support for their control. In this paper, we first trace the historical development of these two perspectives, and then offer a tentative solution to the seeming tension between these two perspectives.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carthage College, Kenosha, WI, USA

    Rick A. Matthews

  2. Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL, 62026, USA

    David Kauzlarich

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  1. Rick A. Matthews
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  2. David Kauzlarich
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Correspondence to David Kauzlarich.

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Matthews, R.A., Kauzlarich, D. State crimes and state harms: a tale of two definitional frameworks. Crime Law Soc Change 48, 43–55 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-007-9081-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-007-9081-5

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