Criminology Report: Globalization, Drug Trafficking, and Scotland

This report delves into contemporary debates within criminology, focusing on the impact of globalization on crime, particularly drug trafficking, and the implications of Scotland's new criminal responsibility age. The report examines how globalization has facilitated the internationalization of criminal activities, including drug smuggling, and the challenges this poses to law enforcement agencies and international organizations like UNODC and INTERPOL. It analyzes the societal, economic, and governmental impacts of drug trafficking, including its links to organized crime, corruption, and violence. Furthermore, the report investigates the fragmentation of drug trafficking networks and the difficulties this presents for combating these crimes. It also explores the effects of drug trafficking on individuals and communities, including health issues and economic consequences. The report concludes by suggesting that governments must guarantee that fines and punishments are given to drug traffickers as well as users, who are typically from lower socio-economic groups with poor incomes, little to no formal education, and limited employment possibilities.

Contemporary Debates
in Criminology

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Question 2 ...................................................................................................................................3
Question 3 ...................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
The study of wrongdoing or aberrant behaviour is known as criminology. It is a behavioural
and social science multidisciplinary discipline that is mainly dependent on the works of law
academics, sociologist, psychiatrist, psychologist, philosophers, biologist and many others.
Criminologists are those who study and investigate the many aspects of criminology. For the
purpose of identification of particular offender, the one who are criminologists mostly pays
attention to the behaviour of the criminal. They are entrusted with the task of investigations and
research, create hypotheses, writing reports, and, in many instances, solve the crimes. The
investigation of the nature of crime and offenders, the roots of criminal law, the genesis of
wrongdoing, the societal response to crime, and the operation of law enforcement organizations
and correctional facilities are all topics that criminologists are interested in (Staring and van
Swaaningen, 2021). The goal of this report is to create a newspaper article about two of
criminology's most pressing topics. The first article discusses globalization and its influence on
drug trafficking, while the second article discusses Scotland's new criminal responsibility age of
12 years.
MAIN BODY
Question 2
In the last 20 years, criminal activity has gone worldwide in a variety of ways
and for a variety of causes.
The impact of globalization affecting
social phenomena has resulted in significant
societal shifts in societies. Several socio-
economic concerns, like as harmony,
criminality, immigrants, manufacturing,
labour, technological advancements,
environmental risks, etc., are now regarded
as globalization-related phenomena.
Globalization has an impact on international
law, trade law, international commerce law,
criminal law, and other disciplines of law.
The law has become a worldwide
phenomenon as people move away from
their immediate surroundings and toward the
distant. It is a reality that the law is
becoming more global, while emergencies
are frequently the commencement of this
transition. Everything has been affected by
globalization, including crime, criminals,
and victims, the mechanism of reporting a
felony, the prosecution procedure, the
reasons for proving a claim, criminality and

decriminalization, and crime policy (Orsini,
2017). Internationalization has posed new
difficulties and, on occasion, has aided in
the resolution of those challenges.
Drug trafficking refers to the
international smuggling or trafficking of
drugs, consisting drug planting,
manufacture, transportation, consumption,
and selling. All of it is prohibited under
federal and state regulations that prohibit the
sale of medicines unless they are used for
medicinal purposes. Such medications are
often addicting, and long-term use might
significantly damage physical and mental
capabilities. Memory problems,
cardiovascular diseases, tumours, and body's
immune weaknesses might all result from
drug usage. It might potentially cause birth
abnormalities in drug users' offspring. This
is also mentioned as among the factors that
contribute to criminality, bloodshed, and
social disruption in community. Drug
dealing has a societal, economical, and
governmental impact on a country (Morselli,
Paquet-Clouston and Provost, 2017).
Drug trafficking has a particularly
negative impact on countries producing as
well as distributing narcotics. The United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) researches and monitors globally
recognized drug trade on a regular basis in
order to gain a greater knowledge of the
market as well as how traffickers of the
drugs operate at various market or places.
As this vast majority of drug smuggling
issues occur in nations including such
nations and countries like: Mexico,
Afghanistan, etc. and the channels by which
these countries conclude their operations,
includes nation like: Greece, Russia, Turkey,
etc. which are all closely monitored. The
market price of all these marketplaces on its
own is over $20 billion USD each year.
On terms of matters relating to
politics, medication administration and
manufacturing in nations are governed by
federal and state legislation. Furthermore,
various regulations sometimes contradict
each other during particular state regulations
regard all forms of drugs to be sources of
drug addiction, rendering them a dangerous
and possible misuse agent. Member nations
can examine and get drug warnings from
INTERPOL regarding distinct instances
innovative trafficking tactics, or developing
patterns," as when the organization conducts
analytical research on drug cartels as well as
how the incidence in different parts of the
world may be related to each other as well
(Vatanparast and Shariatinia, 2018). In
effort to combat the drug trafficking issue,
meetings on drug themes, the newest

investigative methodologies, and even how
to improve the relationships and
collaboration of law enforcement agencies
are held.
Drug smuggling may be a serious
risk to a nation's political atmosphere if its
system of government agencies are poor,
particularly whenever legislatures are
governed by corrupt politicians of the nation
who can use politics as well as the nation of
its own to propagate their organized crime in
a well systematic and organised manner as
they have been authorised with extra powers
being the administrators. It is due to the fact
that such groups might jeopardize a nation's
democratic systems by meddling with legal
governmental arrangements of the political
and also the nation's political peace and
stability. While leaders participating in
criminal acts or activities, including such
activities like: drug trafficking, entice the
others so that they join them, resulted in
massive corrupt practices at just the both
levels i.e. local and national levels (Oxford
Analytica, 2021).
Throughout most situations, nations
which indulge themselves in drug trafficking
profit from corrupt governmental politicians
in destination areas of various different
countries, since it will become a standard
procedure for corrupt leaders of the
governments as well as the politicians,
contributing to the growth and development
of organized crime of drug smuggling or
trafficking. Considering how much
monetary system it brings further in the
economy of Mexico, the drug trafficking
market is expected a highly successful
company in Mexico. Its primary goal is to
manufacture and distribute cocaine,
marijuana, and heroin. It's been said that, as
more than just a result of the globalization of
illicit drug usage, supplier nations including
such countries like: Colombia and Mexico
just wouldn't manufacture as much of it as
they do now if the United States hadn't been
such a strong and excellent purchaser of
narcotics. Notwithstanding such, the United
States cannot already be called the primary
purchaser of pharmaceuticals because drugs
are also widely available in European
nations. Furthermore, as INTERPOL as well
as the UNODC continue their hunt for drug
traffickers, drug gangs grow more careful in
their dealings in order so as to stay
competitive in the marketplace. As a
consequence, drug trafficking networks have
dispersed and fragmented into smaller
groupings.
Bolivia, for example, has
collaborated alongside peasant cooperatives
to produce cocaine also with guerrilla

organizations to act as their middlemen with
several other neighbourhood or regional
customers. Even just the armed services was
used for this reason at points of time. In Peru
as well as Colombia, this very same thing
has happened. Drug exchanges or dealings
and criminal organizations flourished mostly
in unavailability of organizations and
insufficient intervention of the military in
drugs manufacturing and distribution,
opening the path for all these nations to
become significant drug distributors. Since
drug gangs operate in different segments or
groups, dispersion has made it increasingly
challenging to track them down. As a result,
removing them was more difficult than
dismantling them while they were operating
as a larger institution. These drug traffickers'
key message is that functioning as a tiny
criminal organization makes them "less
susceptible to law enforcement and
governmental persecution."
As a result, the number of homicides
and other forms of crimes has grown. As
residents become more fearful, some
segments of society begin to doubt the
government's stance on drug trafficking,
given the rise in organized crime (Bandiera,
2021). Since organised crime, include but
are not exclusive to narco-trafficking,
grossly oversimplifies degrees of crime,
weakens government institutions, as well as
degrades constitutional values and indeed
the legal system. Consumers are likely to
suffer so much more on a social level since
they worry for their careers and lives of
drug-related offences and crimes. Violent
crimes, which includes: murder, are linked
to illegal drug trafficking across the world.
Furthermore, this has already been related to
growing rates of unemployment amongst
youth ages to 35, even those who have just
begun to work and those that are already
employed. Many who suffer from addiction
of drugs out of utter despair to obtain job are
likewise a minority. It has already been
related to lower work performance of an
employee and also the work environment
mishaps, as well as worse staff member
competitive strength, as such an employee
lacks concentration, motivation,
intelligibility, as well as the capacity to
make smart judgements and decisions at
workplace. As just a result, firms run the
risk of losing even more money if they hire
a drug-addicted staff.
These concerns shall proceed to take
place as a reality of trafficking and
controlling the drug remains in the criminal
law issue across the world. The so-called
"war on drugs" might be stopped or
dismantled if powerful nations continue to

support the global drug control system,
emphasize prohibition, and apply criminal
consequences to drug trafficking. Some
Latin American countries have already
begun to enact tough drug regulations,
including hefty jail terms, which have saved
lives that might otherwise have been lost
due to illegal substance contact. However,
governments must guarantee that fines and
punishments are given to drug traffickers as
well as users, who are typically from lower
socio-economic groups with poor incomes,
little to no formal education, and limited
employment possibilities. There have been
several developments that have occurred as
a result of globalisation or industrialization.
These developments have had a significant
influence on nearly every nation's economy
and have aided nations in conducting
economic activity. However, along with the
benefits, there are also drawbacks that have
shown to be dangerous and life threatening.
Some of them includes brain damage,
mental confusion and stroke are some
common disadvantage of consuming drugs
and when trafficking of such dangerous
products are done, it may damage the
economy as people loose their capacity to
work with times when consumption is
increasing. This affect the working of people
and thereby economy as a whole. Moreover,
illicit trafficking of the drugs not just
violates domestics and international laws but
also serves invitation to some other criminal
activities which includes conspiracy,
racketeering, bribery and even corruption
which can result in deterioration of the
whole world. As previously said, this has
increased the rate of crime on a global scale.
Drug trafficking is not just a criminal
offense, but it also poses a threat to an
individual's life (Corazza and Roman-
Urrestarazu, 2017). Its intake causes
serious health problems and puts a person's
life at jeopardy. There have been several
developments that have occurred as a result
of globalisation or industrialization. In this
regard, virtually every nation's government
has enacted a number of measures.
However, some people or groups of persons
were able to circumvent those regulations
and develop a new or novel method of
smuggling narcotics from other countries or
exporting them to other countries or nations.
As a result, all of these operations must be
closely monitored in order to prevent illicit
drug imports and exports, and the
government's unrestricted power must be
monitored on a regular basis to ensure that it
is not being abused. This would not only
assist the country in avoiding illegal
activities, but it will also protect the lives of

many people who use illicit drugs. In this
regard, virtually every nation's government
has enacted a number of measures.
However, some people or groups of persons
were able to circumvent those regulations
and develop a new or novel method of
smuggling narcotics from other countries or
exporting them to other countries or nations.
As a result, all of these operations must be
closely monitored in order to prevent illicit
drug imports and exports, and the
government's unrestricted power must be
monitored on a regular basis to ensure that it
is not being abused. This would not only
assist the country in avoiding illegal
activities, but it will also protect the lives of
many people who use illicit drugs.

Question 3
Is 10 years of age a suitable age for
criminal responsibility in
England and Wales?
Anyone who is below the age of 18
is considered a child, as per United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child
(UNCRC). Greater differences are created in
criminal law, despite the fact that it is not
specified in legislation. A 'juvenile' is
someone under age of 18 years, a 'young
person' is someone between age of 14 to 18,
and a 'child' is someone under the age of 14.
As a result, under England and Wales'
Criminal Justice System (CJS), there is the
possibility to successfully discriminate
between different ages and so respond to
different ages' behaviors accordingly.
However, due to the shockingly low age of
criminal liability, this is not possible. In
England and Wales, criminal responsibility
age is 10 years, that is the least age at which
a child is prosecuted and also punished by
law for an offense. The United Nations,
professional groups, and academia have all
called for it to be raised, as have legal
initiatives. A large minority of people
questioned, 39%, believed the age of the
criminal responsibility must be raised in the
most recent British study, conducted in
2010. Given the calls to give rise to the age
of the criminal responsibility, it is timely to
consider the age of criminal responsibilities
appropriateness in England and Wales
(Hristov, 2021).
Children's Hearings are held in a
child-friendly environment and address a
variety of welfare problems. As a result,
children are able to take part, and offending
is viewed by the lens of welfare
requirements of child. This is similar to how
many nations differentiate among both
"full" and "relative" criminal culpability.
The concept of responsibility which is
relative, which is engaged from a young age,
guarantees that children's problems are
handled in courts or comparable settings,
with health, educational, welfare, and/or
therapeutic measures available. The child's
full criminal culpability does not take effect
until he or she reaches the maximum age
limit, which is usually 18 years (Smith,
2018). In several other respect, a country's
age of a criminal responsibility can be low,
but its approach to children may be welfare-
oriented rather than punitive. While
comparing criminal responsibility age is
difficult, the UNCRC has previously said
that an age of criminal responsibility of less

than 12 years also isn't globally accepted,
and since then an attempt to increase the
minimum requirement to the age of 14
years. In late 2018, the UN Committee
launched a discussion on raising the
minimum age to fourteen years. Many
nations have implemented or increased their
criminal responsibility age as a result. This
includes Scotland and Ireland, both of which
have a 12-year age of criminal
responsibility. In England and Wales, it is
still ten years.
England and Wales has the lowest
‘full' age of responsibility for crime in the
Europe and one of the minimum age for
taking the criminal responsibility in the
world is ten years. In certain nations, there is
‘absolute' age of criminal responsibility and
the ‘conditional' age period during which the
defense or presumption of doli incapax
applies (Wall, 2019). The last mentioned
occurs when the kid is found incapable of
committing a crime based on evidence given
by the prosecution or defence. Prior to 1998,
minors aged 10 to 14 were assumed
incapable of crime in England and Wales
unless and until the prosecution showed
proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the kid
understood what it was doing was wrong
gravely, as opposed to bad. In some other
words, although if the criminal
responsibility age was fixed at 10 years, it
was considered that minors under the age of
14 were not criminally liable unless the
prosecution could prove that the kid
understood the gravity of the crime. The
rebuttable presumption of doli incapax was
the name given to this legal concept. It was
simpler to show criminal awareness the
older the kid was and the more plainly
improper the behaviour was. After the
murder of James Bulger, a child, with two
10-year-old boys in the year 1993, in 1998,
this concept was repealed. Other nations of
common law have likewise abandoned the
theory of doli incapax. Other nations, in
contrast to England and Wales, have tended
to increase the least age of criminal
responsibility to 12 years at the same time
(Pillai, 2019).
Following the James Bulger case, a
slew of laws aimed at 'responsibilizing'
youngsters were enacted in England and
Wales. Individual children, rather than
society, have responsibility for deviant
behaviour, according to the concept of
responsibilisation. Those arguing for a
minimum age of the criminal responsibility
frequently reference the Bulger case, as well
as the notion that if a kid is adequately old to
act just as adult and commit the felony,

those who are old enough to have been
improsoned as an adult/criminal.
Governments, on the other hand,
have rejected many requests to increase the
age for taking the responsibility of crimes
over the past 50 years. In England and
Wales, the age of it was raised to ten years
from 8 years in the year 1963. The
Committee on Children and Young Persons
proposed that the least age for taking
criminal responsibility be enhanced to 12,
and perhaps to 13 or 14, but the law of
Children and Young Persons Act of 1963
s.16 raised the age to the year 10. The
legislation had a provision to increase the
age of the criminal responsibility to 14
years, nevertheless these measures were
never enacted due to a change of
administration. Ever since, successive
administrations have maintained that
children aged ten and up are capable of
distinguishing between bad behaviour and
serious wrongdoing, and that they should be
called to account for their conduct (Winship,
2019). The administration has also stated
that the people must have faith in the
juvenile justice system and trust that
offenders would be appropriately addressed
appropriately.
Due to the age of taking
responsibility for crime being only 10 years,
there are many consequences which may be
faced by children. The research states that a
interaction with criminal justice system may
broaden criminal careers of the child rather
than just prevent them. There is a rationale
behind it which involves firstly that the
children involved in the criminal
proceedings are more likely to receive the
delayed therapy as compared to those
children who are placed in the secure home
of children by the welfare proceedings. As
per the Labelling theory, the children who
are in the category of offender have more
probability that they are likely to perceive
themselves as the criminals and get engage
in such behaviour which are criminal in
nature and associate with the criminal peers.
They are more prone to the risk that they
shall be treated negatively by other people
which includes their teachers and the
employers. Secondly, criminals records are
to be disclosed when a child applies for the
employment or the educational course and
contact with the criminal justice system may
reduce the probability of the child to
complete the education, gain the
qualifications and secure the employment
(Yuan, 2020). Third consequences which
may be faced is that the children who come
in contact with criminal justice system have
less chances to have the complex needs.

This shows that the age of criminal
responsibility criminalizes the social needs.
The one who oppose to raise the age
of criminal responsibility often argue that
the children who are aged between 10- 11
have the understanding of what is wrong and
what is right so it follows automatically that
they must be dealt in the criminal courts.
But as per the research conducted, the
evidence showed that the early adolescence
is aged between 13-14 years which is the
period that is marled as the neuro-
developmental immaturity wherein the
capacity of the child is not equal to an adult
or older adolescent. This finding raises the
doubt as to whether current age of 10 years
is appropriate as the minimum age of the
criminal responsibility (Davies, 2018). In
order to remove the doubt, it can be said that
the age of 10 years is the developmentally
immature age and during this, the child
undergoes important changes which are
linked to regulate its own behaviour.
Moreover, the ability of the child to think
by consequences of its actions at the age of
10 years is low and they have less ability for
empathising the feeling of others and less
ability to control the impulsive behaviour.
These argument does not show that the child
aged between 10-11 years must not be
responsible for its actions but by reasonably
interpreting this, it may be said that they
must be held less responsible than the adult
or older adolescent.
In one of the case, there was the
conviction of two boys from primary school
for attempt to rape of 8 years of age girl in
the year 2009 which raised issue of how old
the child must be when they know they are
committing the crime. The boys were of age
10 years when the offence was committed
and were the youngest make who were
prosecuted for the offence of rape. During
cross examination, the girl admitted that no
rape have occurred. Justice Saunders
highlighted that there is need to learn the
lesson from this case and the criminal
responsibility age must be revised.
The independent review
commissioned by Minister of Justice in
Northern Ireland have recommended that the
immediate enhancement in age of criminal
responsibility must be there from 10 to 12.
Some scholars argued that the children who
are brought to the criminal process at the
young age are the one who are from
dysfunctional, chaotic and traumatic
backgrounds which involves the
combination of sexual or physical abuse,
poor parenting, mental health problems and
conflict within the families. These problems
can be tackled by welfare interventions and