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Theories behind white collar crime
Punishment and white collar crimes
Theories behind white collar crime
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A pale amount of criminological research, which focuses on the public attitude toward crime and the public’s opinion on white-collar crime, has been done. Cullen and colleagues were one of the first to study public attitudes about white-collar crime. In there study they surveyed 240 adults and assessed various perceptions about this behavior. The researchers found that the sample “supported criminal sanctions for white-collar offenders, viewed white-collar crimes as having greater moral and economic cost than street crimes, and did not define the offenses as violent” (sagepub.com). Similar results were found in other studies. In a more recent survey conducted by the NW3C, they decided to touch upon several perception dimensions when conducting
their survey. In order to get a comprehensive picture of what the average American thinks about white-collar crime their survey included questions like, “how serious do you believe white-collar crime is, how safe do you feel from white-collar crime, have you or someone in your household been victims of white-collar crimes, did you report the victimization, what type of person do you believe the average white-collar crime victim is” (ncjrs.gove). The NW3C survey results revealed a higher percentage of households that had been victimized by white-collar crimes than anticipated, but reports of crimes remained low. The results also showed a growing concern of white-collar crime and the ability to control it. In another study researchers found that the respondents believe that the government should “devote equal or more resources towards white-collar crime control” (sagepub.com)
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
The term false consciousness provides contributes to the understanding that there are economic biases, ideological processes and social inequalities within the criminal justice system and the scale is tipped in favour of the wealthy (White, Haines, & Eisler, 2008, p. 111). The ruling elite pass laws which focus on a select population which are believed to be responsible for damaging crimes. Law enforcement is responsible for upholding the laws without questioning their bias nature as well as not allocating enough resources to the investigation of white collar crime. The media also plays a significant role in the distorted view of crimes that harm society by reporting on violence rather than corporate crimes. False consciousness is the concept of the working class being ignorant of their exploitation by the capitalist system which is created by legislators, law enforcement and the media.
McCarthy, B. (2002). NEW ECONOMICS OF SOCIOLOGICAL CRIMINOLOGY. Annual Review Of Sociology, 28(1), 417-442. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.28.110601.140752
The social construction of myths of crime and criminal justice seems to follow a series of recurrent patterns. These patterns allow for an unprecedented amount of social attention to be focused upon a few isolated criminal events or issues. This attention is promoted by intense, but often brief, mass media coverage of a select problem. Intense social concern of an issue is achieved by a variety of means from the mass media, government, law enforcement officials, interpersonal communications, and the interests of reform groups whom all play major roles in focusing the publics attention on select so...
Roberts, J. V., & Hough, M. (2005). Understanding Public Attitudes to Criminal Justice . : McGraw-Hill
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.
Why does white collar and corporate crime tend to go undetected, or if detected not prosecuted? 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. Corporate crime is extremely difficult to detect for many reasons.
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
A look into the public’s perception on whether the penalties given are harsh enough for white collar criminals since most types of crimes have a set of standard penalties for those convicted. A standard set of penalties needs to be looked at for white collar crimes to help in eliminating the criminal behavior and saving society billions of dollars a year. Perception of Penalties 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 perceptions can vary from one individual to another. “A recent survey conducted by the National White Collar Crime Center (NWCCC) confirms that the public considers certain white collar crimes as more serious than some street crimes, according to Drs.
As we look at criminal cases that are prolific, and make us wonder I became enamored with the Whitey Bulger case. This was a criminal case that go my attention because of the fact James Joseph Bulger Jr. evaded law enforcement for so many years. But the reason behind that would grasp my attention even further. Organized crime has always been an interest to me because of the secrecy and the loyalty behind the Cosa Nostra. I specifically picked Whitey Bulger for the simple fact he wasn't the typical mobster we see in film. Also the fact the Federal Bureau of Investigation was compromised due to the fact their agents were bought and were a large part in why Whitey Bulger was able to evade law enforcement for so long.
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.
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.