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History of crime and criminal justice in america chapter 1 pdf
Media influence on perceptions of crime
History of crime and criminal justice in america chapter 1 pdf
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Blue-Collar Crime vs White-Collar Crime
Crime is defined as an action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by law. It is something that has been around since the dawn of time and has only manifested through the years into more deceptive and manipulative forms. The United States is infested with two forms of crime: blue collar and white collar crime. Blue collar crime consists of murder, rape, robbery, and any offenses that cause direct harm to an individual. White collar crime is a more expensive crime, so to speak, as it consists of crimes such as embezzlement, fraud, and stock manipulation. As long as crime has been around people have tried to explain why crimes occur and deter people
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There are many causes of people committing these crimes, such as poverty, which is the number one cause, but rage, passion, and jealousy are also other causes. Murder, robbery, and rape are not only committed by those who are poor, but they are also committed by wealthy individuals, however it is much more uncommon. Criminals have usually been morphed by society to believe that they have to commit criminal acts to achieve higher social standing and wealth. In turn, with these crimes being committed by lower-class citizens, they typically receive harsher punishments because they cannot afford adequate legal services. Another cause for harsher punishments is that the media is more involved with blue-collar crimes than white-collar crimes due to ratings; more people tune in to hear about a high-speed car chase or a bank robbery than someone forging a painting to …show more content…
In this day and age, white-collar crimes are those crimes which are generally committed in a business setting and are considered to be non-violent. Some people refer to white-collar crimes as "paper crimes". A few examples of white-collar crimes include wire fraud, forgery, embezzlement and more. Social status is a possible cause of white-collar offenders, most people who have become wealthy feel they need to stay wealthy by any means. Other possible causes include jealousy, greed, and the feeling that they could get away with it because others are unintelligent, such as in Ponzi schemes where they can take advantage of others. With white-collar crimes being committed by the upper-class citizens in the United States, their punishment is often much less severe than that of blue-collar criminals. The wealthy can afford expensive lawyers to delay cases until the prosecutor would rather give them a slap on the wrist than continue with the case. Another cause for less severe crimes is due to media and that most white-collar crimes get kept on the “down low” and do not reach the headlines. These are referred to as “victimless crimes” even though crimes committed at a white-collar level often
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
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.
Unless it is a huge scandal, you will seldom hear of white collar crime through the media. When white collar crime is reported, it gets little publicity compared to a gang shoot-out that killed a mother and her three kids. There is a reason for this. Since violent street crime is predominantly an urban problem, there is no better scapegoat than the lower class that live in these inner-city communities. Since urban communities are concentrated with people of color, the image of minorities soon becomes that of a criminal.
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
white-collar crime” (Shapiro, S. P.). It is no surprise to anyone that positions of trust regularly decentralize to corporations, occupations, and “white-collar” individuals. Nevertheless, the concept of “white-collar crime” involves a false relationship between role-specific norms and the characteristics of those who typically occupy these roles. Most of the time, it is the offender that is looked at more than the crime itself and assumptions about the individuals automatically come into play. It has be to acknowledged that “ class or organizational position are consequential and play a more complex role in creating opportunities for wrongdoing and in shaping and frustrating the social control process than traditional stereotypes have allowed” (Shapiro, S. P.). The opportunities to partake in white-collar crime and violate the trust in which ones position carries are more dependent upon the individuals place in society, not just the work place. The ways in which white-collar criminals establish and exploit trust are an important factor in truly exploring and defining the concept of white-collar crime.
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.
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
Crime and Class, The poorer you are, the more likely you are to be arrested for a crime. However, this may be better explained by the fact that the crimes of the poor are more visible and they are more likely to fit the criminal profile than by the fact of economic need. In addition, the poorer you are, the more likely you are to be a victim of crime. (Kimmel & Aronson,
White collar crime is viewed as non-violent and treated differently than other types of crimes; some that are even violent in nature. In general, personal and public perception can vary from one individual to another. “A recent survey conducted by the National White Collar Crime Center (NWCCC) confirm that the public considers certain white collar crimes as more serious than some street crimes, according to Drs. Marilyn Price and Donna Norris” (Perri, J.D., CFE, CPA, 2011, p. 23). Even though white collar crimes do not seem a violent as someone that commits murder; there is still major damage done. For example, a fraud victim goes through a lot of hardship. They can be harassed, have their identity stolen and lose everything. This in many cases can be looked at as a severe crime. Valuables taken during a burglary can be replaced easily, but someone’s identity and livelihood cannot be given back. Most white...
The foundation of our country, the keystone to our democratic system, is the integrity of social institutions that we not only assume we can trust but have come to rely on for most aspects in our daily lives. The integrity of these social institutions can only be achieved through building blocks such as internal controls and independent, verifiable information. White collar criminals build a sense of false integrity around them in order to gain the trust of their victims, ranging from the young to the very old. Friedrich’s (2010) Trusted Criminals defines the foundation to white collar crime, the level of trust we have for those in power. We trust those in charge, those with power, and those who represent the integrity of our social institutions.
In the twentieth century, White Collar and Organized Crimes have attracted the attention of the U.S. Criminal Justice System due to the greater cost to society than most normal street crime. Even with the new attention by the Criminal Justice System, both are still pretty unknown to the general public. Although we know it occurs, due to the lack of coverage and information, society does not realize the extent of these crimes or the impact. White Collar and Organized is generally crime committed by someone that is considered respectable and has a high social status. The crimes committed usually consist of fraud, insider trading, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft or forgery. One person would not normally commit all of these but likely one or the other.
The world will always be full of crime, thus it is necessary for scientist to grow along with the gruesome and increasing amount of violations. Due to this it sparked scientist to develop crime theories in which emerged to explain why crime is caused by individuals. Some of the few theories that have advanced over the past century and provided many answers to why crimes are committed are biological theories, psychological theories and learning theories. These theories provide an insight to its first use and change in order to provide answers.
Enterprise, Contrepreneurial, and Techno White Collar Crime When you look at enterprise, contrepreneurial, and techno white collar crime you will find it to be a more of an admixture of white collar crime, or perhaps a more advanced form of white collar crime. These crimes may not always be considered white collar crimes to some, but whether or not a person chooses to take it as a white collar crime or not, these are some highly manifestations of crime (Friedrichs, 2010). The question is which one of the three types of crimes are the most contemptible? Enterprise crime Involves illicit entrepreneurship and commerce.
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.