Posted by Sharon Hartles 30th July 2018 Written by Sharon Hartles 20th December 2017
The Grenfell disaster is a crime, a social crime, and can be understood as such through Hillyard and Tombs' (2007) typology of harm, these being: physical harms, financial/economic harm, denial of cultural safety and emotional and psychological harms.
A social harm lens illustrates why it is argued that what constitutes crime and criminal justice belongs to the preserve of the powerful. Thus supporting Hillyard's claim that behaviours, actions and events would be better 'considered through a social harm discourse rather than through the paradigm of crime' (et al., 2004, quoted in Green, 2010).
This concept of harm reveals that the paradigm of what constitutes crime and justice is merely constructed by the powerful. Moreover, it brings into attention the overarching notions of power, networks of powerful elites and state-corporate crime.
The concept of power defined as constraint of behaviours, actions and events emanating from unequal social relations and structures of dominance and subordination, which may be exercised corrosively or through consensus (The Open University, 2016).
This demonstrates how powerful elites construct, enact, evoke and evade crime and justice systems to protect their own interests at the cost to others.
In the Grenfell disaster the cost to others is:
Injustice for the grieving families and friends
Muncie (2001) declares 'A conception of crime without a conception of power is meaningless' (quoted in Muncie et al., 2010, p. 31). Sutherland endorsed networks of powerful elites such as corporate representatives and state representatives implement and administer black letter law to favour their own interests (1945, cited in Tombs and Whyte, 2010) and Kramer et al, (2002) evidences state-corporate crime as corporations and states interceding to produce social harm.
In the Grenfell disaster the interceding harm was the death of 72 people because the cladding was:
Not fit for purpose
It was fit for the purpose of making Grenfell tower look more aesthetically pleasing to the wealthy who had to look at the building!
Reiman's (2007, cited in Muncie et al., 2010) text The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, may need to be updated to:
The Rich Get impunity and the Poor Get a Death Sentence!
This was a PREVENTABLE SOCIAL MURDER! A social murder of the most marginalised and vulnerable in society.
Incredulously, those whose lives were lost, to add insult to injury, were labelled and refereed to as: 'just illegal immigrants'. Every person who lost their lives in the Grenfell disaster were human beings!
Regardless of this constructed categorisation and labelisation, an equal level of respect and dignity should be shown to all who lost their lives.
My thoughts, prayers and wishes go out to the grieving families and friends of those who were lost in this PREVENTABLE SOCIAL MURDER and the displaced Grenfell community.
In the pursuit for Truth, Justice and Accountability - LESSONS NEED TO BE LEARNT!
References
Green, P. (2010) ‘The state, terrorism and crimes against humanity' pp. 209 – pp. 245 in Muncie, J., Talbot, D. and Walters, R. (eds) (2010). Crime: Local and Global Cullompton Willan Publishing
Kramer., R. Michalowski., D and Kauzlarich., D (2002) 'The Origins and Development of the Concept and Theory of State-Corporate Crime' [Online] (Accessed 7th December 2017)
Muncie, J., Talbot, D., and Walters, R. (2010) ‘Interrogating crime' pp. 1 – pp. 36 in Muncie, J., Talbot, D. and Walters, R. (eds) (2010). Crime: Local and Global Cullompton Willan Publishing
The Open University. (2016) Glossary, 'Power' Crime and justice [Online] (Accessed 7th December 2017)
Tombs, S. (2015) 'Well being, harm and work', Block 2, Week 6: (DD208) Social Justice, [Online]
(Accessed 7th December 2017)
Tombs, S., and Whyte, D. (2010) ‘Crime, harm and corporate power’ pp. 137 – pp. 208 in Muncie, J., Talbot, D. and Walters, R. (eds) (2010). Crime: Local and Global Cullompton Willan Publishing
The Grenfell disaster is a crime, a social crime, and can be understood as such through Hillyard and Tombs' (2007) typology of harm, these being: physical harms, financial/economic harm, denial of cultural safety and emotional and psychological harms.
A social harm lens illustrates why it is argued that what constitutes crime and criminal justice belongs to the preserve of the powerful. Thus supporting Hillyard's claim that behaviours, actions and events would be better 'considered through a social harm discourse rather than through the paradigm of crime' (et al., 2004, quoted in Green, 2010).
This concept of harm reveals that the paradigm of what constitutes crime and justice is merely constructed by the powerful. Moreover, it brings into attention the overarching notions of power, networks of powerful elites and state-corporate crime.
The concept of power defined as constraint of behaviours, actions and events emanating from unequal social relations and structures of dominance and subordination, which may be exercised corrosively or through consensus (The Open University, 2016).
This demonstrates how powerful elites construct, enact, evoke and evade crime and justice systems to protect their own interests at the cost to others.
In the Grenfell disaster the cost to others is:
Injustice for the grieving families and friends
Muncie (2001) declares 'A conception of crime without a conception of power is meaningless' (quoted in Muncie et al., 2010, p. 31). Sutherland endorsed networks of powerful elites such as corporate representatives and state representatives implement and administer black letter law to favour their own interests (1945, cited in Tombs and Whyte, 2010) and Kramer et al, (2002) evidences state-corporate crime as corporations and states interceding to produce social harm.
In the Grenfell disaster the interceding harm was the death of 72 people because the cladding was:
Not fit for purpose
It was fit for the purpose of making Grenfell tower look more aesthetically pleasing to the wealthy who had to look at the building!
Reiman's (2007, cited in Muncie et al., 2010) text The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, may need to be updated to:
The Rich Get impunity and the Poor Get a Death Sentence!
This was a PREVENTABLE SOCIAL MURDER! A social murder of the most marginalised and vulnerable in society.
Incredulously, those whose lives were lost, to add insult to injury, were labelled and refereed to as: 'just illegal immigrants'. Every person who lost their lives in the Grenfell disaster were human beings!
Regardless of this constructed categorisation and labelisation, an equal level of respect and dignity should be shown to all who lost their lives.
My thoughts, prayers and wishes go out to the grieving families and friends of those who were lost in this PREVENTABLE SOCIAL MURDER and the displaced Grenfell community.
In the pursuit for Truth, Justice and Accountability - LESSONS NEED TO BE LEARNT!
References
Green, P. (2010) ‘The state, terrorism and crimes against humanity' pp. 209 – pp. 245 in Muncie, J., Talbot, D. and Walters, R. (eds) (2010). Crime: Local and Global Cullompton Willan Publishing
Kramer., R. Michalowski., D and Kauzlarich., D (2002) 'The Origins and Development of the Concept and Theory of State-Corporate Crime' [Online] (Accessed 7th December 2017)
Muncie, J., Talbot, D., and Walters, R. (2010) ‘Interrogating crime' pp. 1 – pp. 36 in Muncie, J., Talbot, D. and Walters, R. (eds) (2010). Crime: Local and Global Cullompton Willan Publishing
The Open University. (2016) Glossary, 'Power' Crime and justice [Online] (Accessed 7th December 2017)
Tombs, S. (2015) 'Well being, harm and work', Block 2, Week 6: (DD208) Social Justice, [Online]
(Accessed 7th December 2017)
Tombs, S., and Whyte, D. (2010) ‘Crime, harm and corporate power’ pp. 137 – pp. 208 in Muncie, J., Talbot, D. and Walters, R. (eds) (2010). Crime: Local and Global Cullompton Willan Publishing