White Collar Crime Analysis

There are many factors as to why there are many problems associated with defining white-collar crimes. The first official definition of white-collar crime was created by Edwin Sutherland, the pioneer of the study of white-collar crime. He defined white-collar crime as “crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.” Many of Sutherland’s critics noted that in terms of conceptual ambiguity, the definition was too vague and loose for any lawmakers to identify this crime. One critic found that the vagueness surrounding the definition fostered ambiguous use of the term and vague interpretations ((Payne, 2012). In recent criticisms, a variety of other terms have been used synonymous with the

White-collar crimes are considered regulatory concerns than crimes. It is also seen as a victimless crime since victims of white-collar crimes are not physically harmed, and the crime’s effects are not clearly visible and immediate (Martinez, 2014). In reality, white-collar crimes significantly damage on our financial system as it will be the American taxpayers and consumers to repay the damages of these crimes with more taxes, higher premiums and higher cost of goods over a course of decades. Furthermore, people who commit these crimes are not seen as “real criminals” compared to street crimes due to their high position in society. For example, the beloved Martha Stewart was charged with a felony white-collar crime. Unlike other street crime felonies, she was about to bounced back in society as if nothing had happened and continue making money off consumers and her popularity intact. In addition, the attitude from the law also adds to the problem. Some of the white-collar criminals either receiving lesser felonies/misdemeanors and/or less punishment compared to street criminal due to their high-powered lawyers. If white-collar criminals do go to prison, they would be sent to a minimum-security prison where they can still obtain 5 stars’ services due to some states creating the pay to stay