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Punishment and white collar crimes
Punishment and white collar crimes
Punishment and white collar crimes
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Over the past several decades there has been a wide debate about what the correct definition for white collar crime should be, and even today, there is still a lot of confusion regarding the meaning of white collar crime. Currently, the definition of white-collar crime is still hotly contested within the community of experts, and this essay will discuss what is meant by the term white collar crime, as well as its legal standing and its importance in criminology. Edwin H. Sutherland is credited for introducing the term in 1939 (Friedrichs, 2010), and his definition is "crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" (Cornell University Law School, n.d.). A principle attribute of white collar …show more content…
In order to coherently understand the meaning of white collar crime, Friedrichs (2010) states that it must be approached in stages. The first stage is polemical, and is related to the definition. The second and third stages are typological and operational. As previously mentioned, white collar crime has been quite heavily debated, and currently there is no definition that is generally accepted by criminologists. Some argue that the term white collar crime should be abandoned altogether, and another issue is where it is appropriate to draw the line between legal practices and illegal practices (Hayes & Prenzler, 2012; Dobovšek & Slak, 2015). Throughout time, the scope of white collar crime has broadened to include many other typologies of white collar crime, due to the fact that technology has and continues to advance. The most common types of white collar crime include occupational crime, corporate crime, state crime, financial …show more content…
It was found during research that white collar crime does not necessarily require a breach of law, as various forms of white collar crime can be committed without them being held criminally responsible, all due to the fact that they were conducted without criminal intent. This means that civil law is more effective in regulating white collar crime, as mens rea does not need to be proven unlike criminal law. Therefore, the definition for white collar crime should be defined as nonviolent forms of crime that is financially motivated and committed by businesses and governments, with or without mens
The news article that I decided to do my assignment on is about a bank manager, Debra Anne Chapin, that embezzled 2 million dollars from a bank. The news article’s title is, “Former manager jailed for cheating bank out of $2M; Woman used cash to pay bills, gamble and feed her cocaine habit.” The crime took place in Calgary between June 1, 2006 and June, 30 2008. This embezzlement is a classic case of white collar crime and demonstrates numerous criminological theories.
White collar crime is a term created by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 that refers to crimes committed by people of higher social status, companies, and the government according to the book “White-Collar Crime in a Nutshell” by Ellen Podgor and Jerold Israel. White collar crimes are usually non-violent crimes committed in order to have a financial-gain (Podgor and Israel 3). A very well known white collar crime that has even been taught in many history classes is the Watergate scandal. This is a white collar crime that was committed by government authorities. Watergate was a crime that shocked the nation.
White-collar crime is the financially motivated illegal acts that are committed by the middle and upper class through their legitimate business or government activities. This form of crime was first coined by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.” (Linden, 2016). Crime has often been associated with the lower class due to economic reasons. However, Sutherland stressed that the Criminal Justice System needed to acknowledge illegal business activity as crime due to the repercussions they caused and the damage they can cause to society (Linden, 2016). Crime was prevalently thought to only be
The installment of new security could even be a problem, for people who operate these new security systems could also be a potential thief. There is an approach among many enterprises that it is simpler to easily excuse the employee who committed the offense, instead of dealing with the law and the officers; and follow through with the money and time by prosecuting in order to seek restitution. Sometimes the firm does not to acquire the negative publicity that has to do with the internal offense, especially when their reputation is predominant to their company model. White-collar crime is often categorized as a crime without a victim, damaging only large, objective corporations. Recent news broadcasts portray nothing could be farther from the absolute truth.
E.). There are various costs of white-collar crime, although an accurate measurement is not easy, they are hard to asses as well as very complex. There are enormous financial losses, sometimes physical damage as a result of negligence, as well as social costs: weakened trust in a free economy, confidence loss in political organizations, and destruction of public morality. “White collar crime could also set an example of disobedience for the general public, with citizens who rarely see white-collar offenders prosecuted and sent to prison becoming cynical about the criminal justice system” (Conklin, J. E.). White-collar crime is undeniably a crime and often encompasses elaborate
Today, worldwide, there are several thousands of crimes being committed. Some don’t necessarily require a lethal weapon but are associated with various types of sophisticated fraud, this also known as a white-collar crime. These crimes involve a few different methods that take place within a business setting. While ethical business practices add money to the bottom line, unethical practices are ultimately leading to business failure and impacting the U.S. financially.
White collar and corporate crimes are crimes that many people do not associate with criminal activity. Yet the cost to the country due to corporate and white collar crime far exceeds that of “street” crime and benefit fraud. White collar and corporate crimes refer to crimes that take place within a business or institution and include everything from Tax fraud to health and safety breaches.
Shover, N, & Hochstetler, A. (2006). Choosing white-collar crime. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
White collar crimes do not garner as much media attention as that of violent crimes (Trahan, Marquart, & Mullings 2005). This is an odd fact because white collar crimes cost society much more than violent crimes do (Messner & Rosenfeld 2007). While there are many different definitions for white collar crime, Schoepfer and Piquero describe it as a nonphysical crime that is used to either obtain goods or to prevent goods from being taken (2006). People who commit these crimes are looking for personal or some sort of organizational gain and are being pressured to be economically successful from the idea of the American dream. The authors suggest that there are two types of people who commit crimes, those who have an immense desire for control and those who fear losing all they have worked hard for (Schopfer & Piquero 2006). Both groups have different reasons for turning to crime, but both groups commit the crime to benefit themselves. It was found that higher levels of high school drop outs were directly correlated to levels of embezzlement in white collar crime (2006). Because they are drop outs, they are less likely to be successful legitimately and turn to crime more often than their graduate
1. Reiman explains that the idea that white collar crime is taken less seriously is because it protects the elite classes. For example, if the public believes they should fear the poor more than the rich, the rich can commit more crimes and go unnoticed because the population is focused on the poor Reiman explains that that the way crime is explained does not exactly fit what we think crime is. He explains that the notion that white-collar crime being harmless is based on the idea that white collar crimes do not end in injury or death is false because more people’s lives are put at risk than “lower class” crimes. Reinman thinks it is necessary to re- educate the public on white-collar crimes for economic
There are many definitions of "white-collar" crime. (Edelhertz, 1970) White-collar crime - “An illegal act or series of illegal acts committed by nonphysical means and by concealment or guile, to obtain money or property, to avoid the payment or loss of money or property, or to obtain business or personal advantage.” (Edelhertz, 1970) White-collar crime are crimes can be committed by: “persons working on an individual basis for personal gain in a non-business situation (personal crimes); crimes in the course of their occupations by those operating inside businesses, Government, or other establishments, or in a professional capacity, in violation of their duty of loyalty and fidelity to employer or client (abuses of trust); crimes incidental to and in furtherance of business operations, but not the central purpose of such business operations (business crimes); and white-collar crime as a business, or as the central activity of the business (con games).” (Edelhertz, 1970) In regards to the criminal acts of white-collar crime, the range of possible acts is extensive. (Edelhertz, 1970) The perpetrators responsible are very diverse in regards to character, status, and motivation. (Edelhertz, 1970) Common elements to all white-collar crime: intent to commit a wrongful act or to achieve a purpose contradictory with law or public policy; disguise of reason or intent; dependence by perpetrator on the lack of knowledge or negligence of victim; compliance by victim in what he/she believes to be the true nature and substance of the deal; and concealment of crime by preventing the victim from realizing that he/she has been wronged. (Edelhertz, 1970) In other crime types once the intent is created it is followed by the execution of the act. T...
Fraud and white-collar crime are common forms of crimes that people commit in various aspects and positions in the corporate world. Fraud and white-collar crimes have similar meaning as they refer to the non-violent crimes that people commit with the basic objective of gaining money using illegal means. The cases of white-collar crimes have been increasing exponentially in the 21st century due to the advent of technology because fraudsters apply technological tools in cheating, swindling, embezzling, and defrauding people or organizations. White-collar crime is a complex issue in society because its occurrence is dependent on many factors such as organizational structure, organization culture, and personality traits. Thus, the literature review examines how organizational structure, organizational culture, and personality traits contribute to the occurrence of white-collar crimes.
One illegitimate mean of gaining success are white collar crimes, in which a person uses their normal work to commit crimes. White collar crime is a crime committed by a person of respectable high social status in the course of his or her occupation. White collar crimes tend to do the most social harm and usually committed by members of the upper class (Beirne & Messerschmidt, 2006). White collar crime shows that not only the poor committed crimes. White collar crimes usually occurred in companies that are large. Some white collar crimes are credit card fraud, and bank fraud. Another type of white collar crime is embezzlement, in which funds are granted to a trusted person and the trusted person takes some of the money (Keel, 2008). ...
White-collar crime, specifically computer crime, is becoming more popular as computers become more readily available. Crimes using computers and crimes against computers are usually committed without fear of being caught, due to the detachment of the offender from the victim.
Along with the huge amounts of power that come with big corporations, comes the temptation of money and the corrupt nature of wanting to attain more at any and all costs. During the early 1900’s, a sect of journalists and writers became frustrated with the corruption found inside corporations and took actions to correct this behavior. In what is now known as the work of the “muckrakers”, large corporations were exposed for “a variety of illegal, unethical, harmful, and otherwise abominable and scandalous practices” including “corruption in municipalities, unhealthful, inhumane conditions in food-processing plants, dangerous conditions in coal mines, illegal and deceptive advertising, the abuse of mental patients by staff, the exploitation of factory workers, the running of ‘sweat shops’ (Goode, White Collar Crime)” and the list continues. However, while the new information characterized this type of behavior as “deviant” it was not in fact “criminal” since no laws were in place against such practices (Goode, White Collar Crime). In 1906, legislation was passed regulating the food processing industry and later, in 1916, the first child labor laws were passed (Goode, White Collar Crime). The term “white collar crime”, however, did not surface until 1939 (Goode, White Collar Crime). During a talk, given by Edwin Sutherland, before the American Sociological Society meeting, Sutherland used the term “white collar crime” to describe “crimes committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation” (Legal Information Institute). The types of crimes that are typically associated with this phrase today include, but are not limited to; bank fraud, blackmail, bribery, counterfeiting, embezzlement, extortion, forgery, insider trading, investment schemes, larceny, money laundering and tax evasion. Today, the white collar criminal,