Environmental crime, victimisation, and the ideal victim

This chapter continues the tradition of concentrating on the sociology of phenomena by invoking a case study which draws on a personal experience of the closure of an aluminium plant in the north-east of England. From a victimological and feminist inspired perspective tensions between social and environmental justice are briefly summarised. The chapter first considers the victim in the context of green criminology and specifically the human victim in relation to environmental and global justice. The chapter then considers community victimisation as harm and as non-ideal victimisation. Next, the corporation as monster and non-ideal offenders are considered. A discussion about victimisation from environmental governance leads into the conclusion which laments the under-developed moral and ethical debates arising from a case study that has broader global relevance.