CONTEMPORARY

CRIMES
Introduction
The speed of technological advancement, increasing globalization, and
the exponential growth of global markets have created opportunities
for criminal activities, often with a low risk of detection and using new
forms of anonymity. Preventing and combating new and emerging
crimes is a challenging task.
Crime is continually evolving and adapting. While organized crime, illicit
drug trafficking and terrorism have been of major concern for the past
two decades, other forms of criminal activity are now coming to the
fore, such as cybercrime, sexual exploitation of children, environmental
crime and trafficking in cultural property along with piracy, an old form
of crime which has re-emerged.
Factors for Emergence of Contemporary
Crimes
Factors in the emergence of Contemporary crimes include:
• globalization,
• the proximity of poverty,
• conflict and weak rule of law to high value markets, and
• the rapid appearance of new forms of modern technology and global connectivity.
• Today, local problems can easily become global. The free movement of people, goods
and finance around the world has progressed faster than the abilities of States to keep
track and regulate such movements.
• Criminals have exploited fragmented regulatory regimes and the reduction of trade
barriers. In some regions, the high demand for basic medicines combined with
struggling health-care systems and national control mechanisms contributes to the
significant transnational market for fraudulent medicines.
Contemporary vs. Traditional Crimes
Almost one billion people use the Internet; it allows connections between
individuals across a wide geographic area, bringing many socioeconomic benefits.
However, that global reach is also being used effectively for criminal activities.
New criminal trends have emerged, with people committing crimes in cyberspace
that they would not otherwise commit: the anonymity of the Internet and the
possibility of adopting flexible identities can be incentives for criminal behaviour.
Criminals can gain access to large numbers of targets through online services such
as banking, shopping and social networking. Global connectivity also means
criminals can learn from each other, even if they never meet. Online criminal
“social networking” can provide forms of criminal “outreach” and links between
criminal groups. A false impression of social acceptability of criminal acts such as
child sexual exploitation can be created by online communities.
Contd…
There are many ways information and communication technologies are
driving new and emerging crimes. Consumer financial fraud has
become transnational with the now-commonplace use of online
payments. Global incitement to violence and terrorism through social
media has widened the reach and influence of previously localized
radical and terrorist groups. Illicit drugs and other products can be
bought online, paid for with anonymous virtual currencies.
Criminal groups operate in new ways, hiring specialists to perform tasks
not covered by their existing knowledge and skills. This trend of a more
transient and less structured organization may be how serious crime
will be perpetrated in the future.
Contd…
Use of modern technology in criminal activity is doubtless increasing, but established
methods such as bribery and corruption continue to be important in the way these new
crimes are carried out, particularly for illicit cross-border trafficking and movement.
Prevention:
Raising awareness among potential victims is a vital part of preventing these contemporary
crimes. For example, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations
World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization are warning international travellers to recognize possible trafficking in people,
wildlife, cultural artefacts, illicit drugs and counterfeit goods, and urging them to make
responsible consumer choices. Equally important is the need to address the vulnerabilities of
people at risk of becoming involved in new forms of crime. In Somalia, for example,
prevention initiatives have reached out to youth to dissuade them from becoming involved
in piracy, with the support of community leaders, politicians and religious leaders, alongside
efforts to develop sustainable alternative livelihoods.
Political Crime
• This term is used to signify illegal acts that are designed to undermine an
existing government and threaten its survival.
• These crimes can include both violent and nonviolent acts and range in
seriousness from dissent, treason and espionage to violent acts such as
terrorism or assassination.
Nature of Political Crimes:
• Political criminals and political crimes may stem from religious or
ideological sources.
• Political crimes typically occupy a grey area between conventional and
outlawed behaviour because their motivations shift between selfish
personal needs and selfless, noble and/or altruistic desires.
Goals of Political Crime

• Intimidation (of opponents)

• Revolution (overthrow of existing government)
• Profit (selling secrets or trafficking in stolen arms and munitions)
• Conviction (belief that crimes will help society)
• Pseudo-conviction (concealing criminal motivations behind mask of
conviction and altruism)
The Road to Becoming a Political
Criminal
Typically a pattern of stages:
• Stage 1: “It’s not right”—things are not as they should be.
• Stage 2: “It’s not fair”—some form of injustice for some individuals or
groups.
• Stage 3: “It’s your fault”—a person or group must be held
accountable for the extremists’ displeasure.
• Stage 4: “You’re evil”—dehumanizes person or group and justifies
aggression.
Types of Political Crimes
Election Fraud—Illegal interference with the process of election. Forms
of fraud include:
• Intimidation
• Disruption
• Misinformation
• Registration fraud
• Vote buying
Contd…
• Treason—an act of disloyalty to one’s nation or state.
• Helping or cooperating with an enemy in time of war is considered treason.
• Creating or recruiting a military force to help a foreign nation overthrow
the government is treason.
• Many nation have applied the death penalty to those who have committed
treasonous acts.
Espionage (spying)—obtaining information about a government,
organization or society that is considered secret or confidential without the
permission of the holder of the information.
• Industrial espionage—typically bribing employees to reveal trade secrets
Contd…
• Foreign industrial espionage—foreign agents (spies) causes problems
for both companies and the military.
• The 1996 Economic Espionage Act criminalizes the theft of trade
secrets by both foreign agents and domestic spies.
State Political Crime
These crimes are committed by state authorities against the people they are
supposed to serve. Five varieties are:
• Political corruption
• Illegal domestic surveillance
• Human rights violations
• State violence (i.e., torture/imprisonment)
• State-corporate crime
• The most controversial state political crime is the use of torture (including
waterboarding) to gain information from suspected political criminals.
• This method is usually justified on the belief of imminent danger (ticking bomb
scenario).
Hate Speech and Hate Crimes
About Hate Crime:
• Hate crime refers to criminal acts which are motivated by bias against an
individual or social group because of certain differences, majorly in their religious
practices and customs.
• In contemporary times its meaning has proliferated beyond lynching,
discrimination and offensive speeches and now encompasses speech that is
insulting, derogatory or incites and violence.
• In totality, Hate Crimes could be defined as an attack on a person’s rights
entrusted to him thereby affecting not only him but the social structure as a
whole which in many ways makes it more heinous than many other Criminal
Offences.
• Most common grounds of hate speech are race, ethnicity, religion or class.
Hate Crime in India
• Hate Crime in India is defined in terms of the harm done to a
community at large rather than an individual’s right to freedom of
speech and expression and the harm done as a result of hate speech.
• In India, hate speech is prohibited which is based upon religion,
ethnicity, culture or race.
• Hate speech is neither defined in the Indian legal framework nor can
it be easily reduced to a standard definition due to the myriad forms it
can take.
Statistics related to Hate Crime in
India
• Most hate crimes reported in India were targeted towards Dalits
between September 2015 and December 2019 followed by Muslims.
• A total of 902 crimes were reported to because of alleged hate -
varying from caste, religion to honour killing and love jihad.
Causes for the Prevalence of Hate
Crime
Expression of Prejudice or Bias:
• A person who commits a ‘hate crime’ need not actually be motivated
by hatred for his or her victim, but rather it is his or her expression of
prejudice or bias against the victim’s (presumed) group membership
that more properly characterises such crimes.
• Perpetrators of hate crimes are not always motivated by a single type
of prejudice or hatred but can be influenced by a combination of
different prejudices.
Contd…
Impact of Social Environments:
• Hate crimes may also be the product of our social environments.
• Hate crimes are more likely to occur where society is structured in
such a way as to advantage certain identity characteristics over others
(for example, white, male, heterosexual).
• Systemic discrimination, typically codified into operating procedures,
policies or laws, may give rise to an environment where perpetrators
feel a sense of impunity when victimising certain minority group
members.
Contd…
Influence of Perception:
Some evidence within social psychology suggests that perpetrators may
be influenced by their perception that certain groups pose a threat to
them.
These threats can be divided into:
a) ‘Realistic threats’ – such as perceived competition over jobs, housing
and other resources, and physical harm to themselves or others and
b) ‘Symbolic threats’ which are concerned with the threat posed to
people’s values and social norms.
Contd…
Other Factors:
• Perpetrators of hate crime can be motivated by a variety of different factors.
• Some research suggests that there are four ‘types’ of perpetrators, including:
a)Thrill seekers: Those motivated by a thrill and excitement)
b)Defensive: Those motivated by a desire to protect their territory)
c) Retaliators: Those who act in retaliation for a perceived attack against their
own group); and
d) Mission: Perpetrators who make it their mission in life to eradicate
‘difference’.
Implications of Hate Crime
Psychological Distress:
• People victimized by violent hate crimes are more likely to experience more
psychological distress than victims of other violent crimes.
• Specifically, victims of crimes that are bias-motivated are more likely to experience
post-traumatic stress, safety concerns, depression, anxiety and anger than victims
of crimes that are not motivated by bias.
Sends Wrong Signal to the Society:
• Hate crimes send messages to members of the victim’s group that they are
unwelcome and unsafe in the community, victimizing the entire group and
decreasing feelings of safety and security.
• Furthermore, witnessing discrimination against one’s own group can lead to
psychological distress and lower self-esteem.
Indian Laws Against Hate Crimes
• Though the term is nowhere mentioned in any statute, its different forms are
identified across the laws.
• The IPC under Sections 153A, 153B, 295A, 298, 505(1) and 505(2) declares that
word, spoken or written, that promotes disharmony, hatred, or insults on basis
of religion, ethnicity, culture, language, region, caste, community, race etc., is
punishable under law.
53A: It penalizes promotion of enmity between different groups.
153B: It punishes imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration.
505: It punishes rumours and news intended to promote communal enmity.
295A: It criminalises insults to the religious beliefs of a class by words with
deliberate or malicious intention, contributing to combating hate speeches.
Contd…
Some other laws which contain provisions concerning hate speech and
its prevention are:
Representation of People Act, 1951: It classifies hate speech as an
offence committed during elections into two categories: corrupt
practices and electoral offences. The relevant provisions regarding hate
speech in the RPA are Sections 8, 8A, 123(3), 123(3A) and 125.
Ways to Stop Hate Crime in Society
Needs a Specialised Legislation:
• The need of the hour is specialised legislation that will govern hate
speech propagated via the Internet and, especially, social media.
• It is important that specific and durable legislative provisions that
combat hate speech, especially that which is propagated online and
through social media, is enacted by amending the Indian Penal Code
(IPC) and the Information Technology Act.
• Ultimately, this would be possible only when hate speech is
recognised as a reasonable restriction to free speech.
Contd…
Sensitisation:
• Indian community should be sensitised towards the rights of other citizens
and danger of hate crimes for social cohesion.
Community Policing:
• By fostering partnerships with the community a society enables
communities and law enforcement to work together to prevent and
respond to hate crimes.
• Community involvement can prevent turning a hate-related problem into a
serious crime. Everyone in the community needs to be involved in the
solution. Including diverse groups whose communities may be targets of
hate is important.
Contd…
Community Need to be Aware:
• To address the problem of hate motivated crimes, awareness about the
consequences of the crime is important. By understanding the problem, the
community becomes aware of the significance and need of addressing the issues
facing the community. A public awareness campaign in the community that
provides information, awareness, and resources for community members and
victims of hate crimes is important.
Youth Involvement and Counselling:
• Youth are often more vulnerable to violent attacks, bullying, and other forms of
harassment.
• To combat this, teachers and school administrators should educate their students
and staffs on the nature of hate incidents and crimes and how to prevent them.
Contd…
Training for Police Officers and Deputies:
Police should train new recruits and existing officers and deputies on
hate crimes and other related issues to ensure responding officers and
deputies are trained to investigate and report the hate crimes or
incidents.
Conclusion
The level of sophistication of contemporary crimes challenges well-
equipped States, let alone developing countries with limited resources.
Globally harmonizing legislation will help to prevent and combat
contemporary crimes and there may be a need to devise innovative
ways of increasing global electronic connectivity for investigative
purposes. Globalization and new technological developments will drive
criminal innovation forward. Meeting this challenge will require
consistent efforts to prevent and reduce corruption, to provide
sustainable livelihoods, and to address poverty and inequality.