White Collar Crime

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In this paper the exciting criminal phenomenon known as white-collar crime will be discussed. Corporate Crime and Computer Crime will be discussed in detail. Crime preventative agencies such as the NCPC (National Crime Prevention Council) will also be researched. White Collar Crime The late Professor Edwin Sutherland coined the term white-collar crime about 1941. Sutherland defined white-collar crime as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" (Siegel 337) White-collar crime includes, by way of example, such acts as promulgating false or misleading advertising, illegal exploitation of employees, mislabeling of goods, violation of weights and measures statutes, conspiring to fix prices, evading corporate taxes, computer crimes, and so on. White-collar crime is most distinctively defined in terms of attitudes toward those who commit it. These crimes are punishable by law; however it is generally regarded by the courts and by sections of the general public as much less reprehensible than crimes usually punished by the courts. The other types of crime are blue-collar offenses, which are predominately crimes of the under-privileged. White-collar crimes are punished far less harshly than blue-collar crimes, which shows societies attitudes towards the two sections of society. White-collar crime is attractive to criminals because it brings material rewards with little or no loss of status. (Taft & England 201) For some, white-collar crime is not viewed as a "crime" at all, because of its non-violent nature. Violent crime has an immediate and observable impact on its victim which raises the ire of the public, whereas white-collar crime frequently goes undetected or is viewed as a bending of the rules. Yet white-collar crime can create the greater havoc. The victim of an assault will recover; however, the impact of a fraud can last a lifetime. This is especially true when the elderly are victimized, as they have little or no hope of re-establishing themselves in financial terms. Contrary to the popular belief, white-collar criminals are thieves and the methods used to conceal their offenses are both artful and ingenious. Concealment of the crime is always an objective of the offender, and it becomes an element of the crime itself. Because it is an artful form of deceit, which is skillfully disguised, the ...

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...ovide financial resources, they provide management skills, marketing expertise, and creative synergy to all of NCPC's programs. In October of 1994, RadioShack joined forces with NCPC and the National Sheriffs' Association to form United Against Crime, a public-private alliance which offers a multi-year, free education program on crime prevention. The partnership is one of the largest public-private sector crime prevention initiatives ever undertaken and was formed to empower people to take action that will result in less crime, stronger families, and more active communities. RadioShack has underwritten the cost of the alliance's program and is devoting space in each of its 7,200 electronic retail stores to showcase crime prevention information centers. Since August 1995, RadioShack has provided resources and introduced quarterly satellite crime prevention trainings for law enforcement, community leaders, and the public in over 150 sites. United Against Crime has been recognized by the Public Relations Society of New York with the Big Apple Award for Community Relations and by the International Association of Business Communications with the ACE Award for Community Relations.

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