Throughout this chapter the focus is, in the first instance, upon State crime and corporate crime as well as the breaches of humanitarian and international laws. Initially, arms deals and the companies selling them are integral to the investigation into UK-built weapons being used by Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni Civil War. Indeed, the way in which these sales, and their subsequent use, should criminally implicate the British government, BAE Systems and Raytheon as contributing parties who have exacerbated war crimes. In particular, though, the use of these UK-supplied munitions by Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni Civil War demonstrates the gravity of such dealings. In turn, this use in the Yemen is not only integral to the study as a whole but also representative of a particularly distressing and destructive feature of the case study. Further, it is also depressing in that criminal investigations – of the States and the corporations involved – have not, effectively, offered a means to reprimand or prosecute the perpetrators. Nevertheless, this study does, at least, promote a greater understanding of the circumstances surrounding the Yemini Civil War and, in so doing, provides the means to counter and legislate against further heinous activities of this kind.
In the second instance, the study of organised crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) explores the ‘supply chain’ of crime that is occurring within the country. Beginning with the criminal activity that was happening within the DRCs government, State crime is explored alongside revelations of how and in what way this corruption is allowing for internal public sector organisations – that is, the army and the police – to also be corrupt and involved in criminal activity. Moreover, the case study progresses further down the chain into exploring organised crime. In this case, it relates to the armed rebel groups who could be viewed as organised criminal groups within the DRC.
Finally, it is important to note that both studies look at the consequences of State deliberation or chaos in terms of the social harm that has been inflicted upon citizens to devastating effect. Indeed, there are a number of contemporary similarities between the unfolding events portrayed.