Prevalence of White-Collar Crime in the United States
In the United States white-collar crime is very misinterpreted and in some cases just brushed under the rug. The Justice Department reported in December 2013 that there were five hundred and thirty-eight white-collar crime prosecutions (White Collar Crime Prosecutions, 2013). This is reportedly down roughly three percent from a month ago and a little over four percent from a year ago (White Collar Crime Prosecutions, 2013).
White-Collar Crime is defined as lying, cheating, or stealing against the government (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2014). It’s not always classified as a victimless crime because a white-collar scam can destroy a company, shatter families by clearing out their life savings, or costing investors billions of dollars (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2014).
At the top of the charts for white-collar crime are the three B’s: Bank Fraud, Blackmail, and Bribery (Types and Schemes, 2014). Other types of white-collar crime are Cell Phone and Computer Fraud, Counterfeiting, Embezzlement, Forgery, Extortion, and Money Laundering.
Fraud schemes such as: Bank Fraud, Computer Fraud, Welfare Fraud, and Health Care Fraud are more sophisticated and bullet proof than ever and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) are more determined and dedicated to using their skills to track down and arrest the culprits and stop scams before they even start (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2014).
For example, Welfare Fraud and Health Care Fraud are both two popular white-collar crimes being investigated currently against senior citizens (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2014). Senior citizens are easy targets for multiple reasons including: brain deficiencies, polite and ...
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...viduals running those businesses and their personality traits (Newman, 15). Most criminologists have been more concerned with looking for the very existence of upper-strata crime in our society than with variation in offense rates within a business or profession (Newman, 15).
White-collar crime will not be fully understood unless there is knowledge of the value conflicts in the governmental regulations of business (Newman, 16). A reason white-collar crime is committed is to make a big business even bigger or the individuals running that business become greedy (Newman, 16). There is still a lot to learn from white-collar crime, but the Federal Bureau of Investigations is creating and improving programs into combatting fraud and other types of white-collar crimes to protect the State and Federal Governments (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2014).
2 Companies are exposed to crimes either from the inside, or the outside. White-collar crime is a complication; harming companies in our society, which costs millions. An example of a white-collar crime would be the Ford Pinto case. When gas prices were rising in the United States, people started to search for economical cars.
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.
In Finsterbusch's book, Taking Sides, another variety of crime is exposed. This other form of crime is "white collar" crime. Both have victims, and the effects of both can be devastating to the individuals involved and to the community. The views of the two arguments proposed in the text do reach one common conclusion.
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.
For instance, any financial crime can leave individuals without shelter, money, or any reasonable quality of life due to the white collar offense. Therefore, white collar crime may not involve force, they still may affect people physically. As a matter of fact, white collar crime may result in a greater impact than street crimes. Nevertheless, we continue to operate on a dichotomy of beliefs regarding violent and non-violent crimes. In this paper, we will explore white collar crime as a non-violent crime. Those crimes under discussion are blackmail, bribery, embezzlement, and forgery. In addition, we will discuss violent crimes such as first degree, second degree, and manslaughter (Verstein,
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
White collar crime has been discussed more frequently in the last few years. The news has made society aware that white collar crime occurs almost as often as other criminal activity. In fact, white collar crime is one of the most costly crimes. It is a billion dollar criminal industry. White collar criminals seem to continue to engage in the criminal practices because there is no set standard in the penalties given to those that are caught.
...o be intense for arrests for white collar crime than for predatory violence or drug dealing. Indeed, political pressure is more likely to be exerted in blocking or derailing white collar crime investigations than in conventional crime cases, and the police can operate effectively against white collar crime only to the extent that they are relatively free of political influence” (2010:278). Until political influence and the powers of corporations are subdued little can be done to battle this type of crime. People who commit this type of crime have the power to avoid prosecution primarily due the powerful corporations they work for or the institution they are a part of.
...crimes rather than on street crimes. Rarely will you hear of these crimes on the news until after sentencing has taken place. Unfortunately, corporations can easily afford to pay thousands or even millions of dollars in penalties and fines therefore penalties need to be increased greatly. Due to corporate power, white collar crime is hard to prove even once it is suspected. Determining who began the crime and trying to persuade a jury whom already has a hard time understanding the complexity of these types of crimes can be difficult.
White Collar: 15 Things You Didn't Know (Part 1) White Collar is a USA Network television series that aired from 2009 - 2014. Number Fifteen: It Is Loosely Based On Real Life White-collar crime is defined as a financially motivated, nonviolent crime, typically committed by government officials and business professionals.
White-collar crimes and organizational structure are related because white collar-crimes thrive in organizations that have weak structures. According to Price and Norris (2009), the elites who commit white collar-crimes usually exploit weaknesses in organizational structure and formulate rules and regulations that favor their crimes. Makansi (2010) examines case studies to prove that white-collar crime is dependent on organizational structure. For example, the financial crisis that Merchant Energy Business faced in 2001-2002 occurred due to the liberal Financial Accounting Board, which failed to provide a standard model of valuing natural gas and fuel. Moreover, a financial crisis that rocked the securitization market in 2008 was due to fraudulence in the pricing of securitization products. These examples ...