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Key strengths of social disorganization theory
Key strengths of social disorganization theory
Conceptions of white collar crimes
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White collar crimes all typically involve crime committed through deceit and motivated by financial gain. The term "white-collar crime" was first used by the American criminologist Edwin H. Sutherland to define a violation of the criminal law committed by "a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his [or her] occupation" (White Collar Crime, 1949). The most common white collar crimes are various types of fraud, embezzlement, tax evasion and money laundering. There are many theories that can explain criminal behavior. The three theories we are looking to to explain white collar crimes are The Social Disorganization Theory, The Control Theory, and the Strain Theory. These three theories do not effectively offer an explanation …show more content…
The Control theories try to explain why people conform to the rules and laws. According to Travis Hirshi, deviance is more likely to occur when bonds to society are not formed, or are weakened. People who commit white collar crimes typically tend to be very involved in society. They form bonds with colleagues and partners. They are extensively involved in their work. They have these strong bonds that, according to this theory, would make them conform to rules and laws, but yet they still commit these crimes. They don’t care what their family will think, they aren’t afraid of losing prized objects. “People who commit white collar crimes feel they are above the law because of their wealth, privilege and relative sophistication.” “White-collar criminals can count on gaining significant advantages at every stage of a criminal justice proceeding.” This proves that they feel like they don’t have to follow the law. Their greed overtakes …show more content…
The Strain Theory suggests that people want to follow the rules, but societal pressure to attain a certain status drives them to commit crimes. There are certain conditions under which people do criminal behavior, These conditions are financial problems, poor coping skills, and few social supports. People who are in positions to commit white collar crimes typically don’t have the strains that are listed in this theory. They shouldn’t feel pressured to obtain a certain status because they are already usually in high positions and have no need to keep climbing. The CEOs the commit white collar crimes don’t have a financial strain they need to act out on. “White-collar crimes are about greed and self-aggrandizement, and while those things may be deeply compelling, they are fundamentally different from hunger, addiction or desperation.” The people who commit-white collar crimes may feel strains in their life, but none that should cause them to act in such a
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt was a Harvard graduate, Founder of a hedge fund, CEO and portfolio manager of International Management Associates LLC. John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt swindles millions of dollars from his clients. IMA collapsed in 2006, when Jingleheimer Schmidt wrote bad checks to his client and investor NFL football players. John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt was charged with security fraud and money laundering. John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt was looking to served jail sentence of approximately 710 years when he grew a flower in his jail cell. (AJC News)
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 fact is that white-collar criminals are, in general, incredibly good at deluding themselves that they’re good people, even when they clearly aren’t." according to Felix Salmon on white-collar crime. The definition of a criminal is a person who has committed a crime but if you were to ask a white-collar criminal they wouldn't consider themselves a criminal. Many of the convicted white-collar criminals contrast their actions with "real" criminals who commit street crime. First I will summarize "Denying the Guilty Mind:Accounting for Involvement in White-Collar Crime" written by Micheal L. Benson. Then I will use information from my criminology class to better define white collar crimes. Lastly, I will define Strain Theory and how it relates to white-collar crimes The increase of certain strains that cause negative emotions such as frustration and anger better known as Strain Theory is the cause of white-collar crime.
In criminology there are numerous theories as to the causes of different types of crime. These theories are extremely important in the continuous debate of the ways in which crime should be managed and prevented. Many theories have surfaced over the years. These theories continue to be explored individually and in combination, as criminologists search for the best solutions in ultimately reducing types and levels of crime. These theories include rational choice theory, social learning theory, and biology amongst many others. In this case study strain theory will be used to describe the reasons behind the white collar crimes of Charles Ponzi.
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
Of the millions of law violations that occur each year, most of them are considered “Blue-Collar Crimes.” These crimes are larceny, burglary, and arson, which are mostly committed by individuals who do not consider themselves as criminals. These crimes are committed in the heat of the moment, natural, unexpected, and often not very well thought out. There are many ways of approaching criminal situations. There are also people who believe they have found the reason why individuals commit crimes such as burglary or how to prevent individuals from committing crimes.
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.
Strain theories of criminal behaviour have been amongst the most important and influential in the field of criminology. Taking a societal approach, strain theories have sought to explain deficiencies in social structure that lead individuals to commit crime (Williams and McShane 2010). Strain theories operate under the premise that there is a societal consensus of values, beliefs, and goals with legitimate methods for achieving success. When individuals are denied access to legitimate methods for achieving success, the result is anomie or social strain. This often leads an individual to resort to deviant or criminal means to obtain the level of success that they are socialized to pursue. This is the basic premise of strain theory. This paper will explore the evolution of strain theories by first examining their intellectual foundations which laid the foundation for Robert Merton’s theories of anomie and strain. Merton’s strain theory will be discussed in detail including the modes of adaptation that people use when faced with societal strain. Finally, the paper will conclude with the strengths and weaknesses of Merton’s strain theory and an examination of the criminological theories and social policies it has influenced.
White collar crime was first defined by an American sociologist from Nebraska, Edwin Sutherland, in 1939. He defined it as “A crime committed by a person of respectability or of high social status in the course of his occupation”. Now days, it is defined as “A crime that is financially motivated non- violent and committed by business or government professionals.” White collar criminals do not use violence to obtain the money but instead they use deceit and concealment, they misuse their power and trust. It is often seen as a less serious crime although we hear about these types of crime in the news all the time. The most common types of white collar crime are embezzlement, tax evasion, money laundering.
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.
Each year six million people are affected by some sort of white-collar crime, including: identity theft, embezzlement, fraud, and counterfeiting.