White Collar Crime Coined By Edwin Sutherland

This essay will outline how crime theories are able to assist in recognizing the causes of criminal activity, as well as demonstrating two criminological theories to two particular crimes. Overviews of trends, dimensions and victim/offenders characteristics of both crime groups will be specified. The two particular crimes that will be demonstrated throughout this essay are; Violent Crime (focusing on Assault) being linked with social learning theory and White Collar crime (focusing on terrorism) being linked to General Strain theory. In criminology, determining the motive of why people commit crimes is crucial. Over the years, many theories have been developed and they continue to be studied as criminologists pursue the best answers in eventually diminishing certain types of crime including assaults and terrorism, which will be focused on.

White-collar crimes are just as prevalent today as ordinary street crimes. Studies show that criminal acts committed by white-collar criminals continue to increase due to unforeseen opportunities presented in the corporate world, but these crimes are often overlooked or minimally publicized in reference to criminal acts on the street. Many street crimes are viewed as unnecessary, horrendous crimes because they are committed by lower class citizens, whereas white collar crimes are illegal acts committed by seemingly respectable people whose occupational roles are considered successful and often admired by many (Piquero, 2014). These views often allow white collar crimes to “slip through the cracks” and carry lesser charges or punishment.

Most everyone goes home after a long day of work and watches the news. Think, what is usually reported? The weather, local activities, headline news, or daily criminal activity. Shootings, stabbings, homicides, etc. are all discussed by media anchors these days. This causes most everyone in our society to become familiar with crimes that are considered street crimes. What most people don’t hear about on the news is what is considered white-collar crime, sometimes known as corporate crime. White-collar crime not only is less reported in the media but also receives weaker punishments than street crime. This paper will first discuss the similarities between the two types of crime and then explain why their punishments are strongly

Question Four Institutional anomie theory explains that high crime rates in America can be attributed to the pursuit of material success; meaning that Americans have tendencies to commit crime because of the possible benefits that could be obtained (Schoepfer, Piquero 1). This theory has yet to be applied directly to white collar crime; however, the ideology seems fitting, giving that the motives behind most white-collar crimes are the same as other forms of crime: personal gain (monetary gain, material gain, and/or social status). One distinct characteristic of the American society is the pursuit of the American Dream; which is defined as the equal opportunity for all to achieve monetarily successfulness through hard work, dedication, and persistence

Most people, when they hear the word “crime,” think about street crime or violent crime such as murder, rape, theft, or drugs. However, there is another type of crime that has cost people their life savings, investors’ billions of dollars, and has had significant impacts of multiple lives; it is called white collar crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines white collar crime as

In the United States, there are many different types of crimes that are committed. One type of crime that is considered non-violent would be white-collar crime. Under white collared crimes there are hundreds of different types of crimes that would fall under this category. Sociologist and criminologists have come up with many different theories to what white-collar crime is and what type of people commit these crimes. In the next few paragraphs I will explain what white-collar crime is and my opinion on how white-collar crime should be dealt with.

Although white collar crime is a growing problem worldwide, it remains a concept that cannot easily be grasped. One of the largest difficulties in understanding white-collar crime revolves around an ongoing debate about how to define white-collar crime. One of the first and most utilised definitions is Sutherlands. This definition received a large amount of criticism but is still widely used throughout criminology. Therefore the purpose of this essay will be to outline that although Sutherland’s definition of white collar crime does not specifically encompass all areas of white collar crime, it remains effective as it generates discussion and allows for a broader perspective on an issue that is ever-changing and too extensive to be narrowly

Criger begins the article by discussing the, “Dean of American Criminology,” Edward Sullivan. In 1940, during a speech Sutherland first introduced the topic of white collar crime to his colleagues. Sutherland believed that white collar crime produce

White-Collar Crime consists of occupational crime and corporate crime. Occupational crime refers to offences committed against legitimate institutions businesses or government by those with "respectable" social status. It includes the embezzlement of corporate funds, tax evasion, computer crime and expense-account fraud. It is not every day that we hear about white-collar crimes but these non-violent crimes are on the rise to the top. Federal Bureau of Investigation states that USA, for example recorded white collar crimes amounting $300 billion every year (Cornell University, 2010). White-collar crime is relatively a new idea. It has many aspects that are practical for study and further interpretation to clear some of its dark areas. White-Collar Crime was once introduced by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 during his speech in American Sociological Society. The following crimes actually performed are Bribery, Extortion, Insurance, Fraud, Embezzlement, Cybercrime etc. People who participate in these criminal activities are highly powerful and respectful among the society. The following activities include description about White-collar Crime, Investigation of White Collar Crime and The Consequences of committing a White-collar Crime.

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

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

Edwin Sutherland made huge contributions to our understanding of crime and the law. Edwin Sutherland critique of the field was the most important step forward in understanding American criminology to date. There has been no other criminologist who explains the topic as he did. In 1924 Sutherland wrote one of the first American textbooks in about the study of criminology. In the article, Sutherland gives 5 points that present a brief and general of white-collar crime therefore beginning the origin of the term. Sutherland supported a definite sociological framework. By doing this, he paved the path for criminological work that has been dominant to this day. Sutherland’s work on white-collar crime also recreated the field in important ways. Up until the publication of this article about white-collar crime, much of the focus and work in criminology focused on street crimes (blue-collar crime) among the lower/poor classes. Sutherland made it a point to recognize that crime was not exclusively a lower-class act, but was happening among the higher classes

Social Learning Theory and Neutralization can be useful explanations for white collar crimes. Operant Conditioning first identified by B.F. Skinner, suggests that changing a behavior is determined by the use of reinforcement (increase the likelihood the behavior will be repeated), punishment (decreases the likelihood the behavior will be repeated), and a neutral operant (neither increase of decrease the likelihood of the behavior being repeated). In order to reinforce the behavior positively an individual would require a reinforcement that the individual feels is rewarding. In most white collar crimes money is the reinforcer or incentive, whether that is for the individual or the group. Psychologically, white collar criminals share the same

White-collar criminality is generally considered to be crimes of the rich and powerful. It can be extremely hard to study the levels of these types of crimes due to many reasons. These can include the idea that they usually go under the radar because nobody suspects respectable conformers to commit a crime and suffer the possible loss of attained assets. The notion of sample bias also comes into play as it a vast area of criminal statistics exclude upper class crimes. Lastly because the upper class are seen to be ‘immune because of the class bias of the courts and thei[r own personal] power’. (Sutherland: 2004: 7)

White-collar crime is manifested in a variety of forms, including the agreement to lower prices, fraud, corruption, tax evasion, damage to the principle of trust, bribery in advertising and marketing fraud, manipulation of stock transactions and other crimes. Sax's white-collar crime is defined from the perspective of social criticism, used to distinguish the lower class society "blue-collar crime." Therefore, in his view, white-collar crime is not a sign of the type of crime but the behavior of the actors in the social class on the performance of the attribution.