White Collar Crime Research Paper

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 his article, Edwin H. Sutherland examines “white-collar crimes.” Sutherland first starts the article off by defining what exactly is a “crime.” Sutherland goes on to describe and discuss the antitrust laws. Next, he describes the Sherman Antitrust Act, and that it states that any violation of the law is a misdemeanor. Then, he discusses the three methods that are used to enforce the Sherman Antitrust Act. He then goes on to explain the laws regarding infringements of the law. He also discusses the law in regard to financial manipulations. He goes on to discuss the stigma on white-collar crimes and juvenile delinquency. He the discusses the laws for business regulations, and the consequences in violating this laws. Next, he explains the three

White collar crimes are committed by middle of a higher status in any given occupation. These crimes often involves a validation of trust from a valued employee within a company. These crimes can include trade secrets, fraud, money laundering, identity theft, and healthcare fraud. The people committing these crimes come from a higher class and you wouldn’t thinking someone is poor would commit a crime like this in nature. The media always bring to our attention since the 1990’s about the amount of white collar crimes happening in the United States. A few large companies like Enron, Madoff, Tyco Toys and some other companies were faced with prison sentences for their greed and personal vendettas. The world as a whole started opening their eyes and seeking knowledge about corporations and private companies to understand the corruption CEO’s, lawyer, and trading companies. White collar crimes are happening more often than in previous years. The media has tried to keep the public aware of the amount of white collar crimes that are occurring and the justice systems is taking too long to address the problem. Although, white collar crimes are non-violent and doesn’t pose a direct threat like other crimes it still can cause a personal or public perception that is violent in nature. When people lose their life saving, house, cars, retirement money, and stocks it is hard to say you won’t get violent when you know this person has taken everything you own for their personal gain. Scams

White-collar crime poses a vexing problem for the criminal justice system (CJS). It is an

As each generation becomes more and more Internet and electronic-savvy, there is an increased likelihood that in the years to come America will be plagued with more white-collar crimes than ever before (Wallentine, 2009). This issue becomes even more critical as globalization continues to spread ideas and technologies worldwide on a faster pace than ever, and the gap between rich and poor in the global marketplace increases as well, because the foreseeable result is the strengthening of domestic gangs and international separatist and extremist movements, which of course will lead to even greater spikes in crime rates and terrorist attacks (Cetron & Davies, 2008).

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.

White Collar Crime by Edwin Sutherland, published in 1949, is a study in the theory of criminal behaviour. Sutherland states that this book is an attempt to reform the theory of criminal behaviour only, not to reform anything else. And although it may include implications for social reforms, this is not the objective of the book. Sutherland define white collar crime as ‘a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation’ (pp. 9). He adds that it excludes many crimes of the upper class, such as murder, intoxication, and adultery, because these are not usually part of their occupational procedures. He goes on to describe white collar crime as being similar to juvenile delinquency in the sense of the stigma generated from each crime. In both of these crimes the procedures of criminal law are altered so as not to attach stigma to the offenders. Finally, Sutherland writes that crimes are committed across all social classes, not just people in lower classes or living in poverty, contrary to popular belief at the time of publication.

White Collar crime is not a crime unto it self, but instead a criteria that has to be met in order for a crime to be considered as White- Collar Crime; (Blount, 2002) hence the reason why Corporate Crime is also considered as White- Collar Crime. At the same time, White Collar Crime and Corporate Crime can be seen as distinct criminological categories, however, in order to reveal this, this essay will firstly be exploring Sutherland's definition of white collar crime and the perplexity with this definition of white-collar crime. It will then be looking at the modification which had to take place with Sutherland's definition of white-collar crime in order to established a distinction between white-collar and corporate 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

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

I really enjoyed your discussion Chadrick. In today’s society, crime exist in many areas. There are a lot of theories on how the behavior of these crimes should be handled. My philosophy is that the offenders should be punish to the degree of the predetermined executions of the law. I agree with you that all crimes should be handled differently and according to the nature of the crime. It saddens me on how white collar crimes are being treated when a trial goes to court. An example is the former chairman and chief executive of MCSi Michael E. Peppel was only given a seven-day prison sentence because the judge quoted that the defendant was “a remarkably good man” (The Challenge, 2013). Good men don’t plead guilty to conspiracy, money laundering,

White collar crime is often associated with crimes committed within businesses. These include different forms of fraud such as tax fraud, welfare fraud, money laundering, and property crime (Simpson & Benson, 2009: 42). These forms of white collar crime often have a huge impact on the welfare of the society in profound ways. For instance, according to an article authored by McGrath, a company that suffers losses from fraud must make up for this loss by for example raising the prices of its products. Hikes in prices would mean that consumers would be required to dig dipper into their pockets thus affecting their finances. The loss from fraud could also make the affected company to take drastic measures such as layoffs or implementing salary cuts for the employees (McGrath, n.d).

When an individual becomes a victim of white collar crimes, some people may not notice they are being attacked until days, weeks or even months later. One white collar crime that could be hard to detect is identity theft. Not only have I heard from victims that with our advance technology it could be virtually hard to detect this particular white collar crime, but I’ve dealt with it in the past as well. When a criminal steals someone else's identity, it’s not always obvious immediately. The first sign that may indicate that identity theft has occurred is when people begin to start calling your job, cell phone or home and attempt to advertise information that could be too good to be true (“Identity Theft! A Growing White Collar Crime,”

White collar crime is a serious issue in the United States. White-collar crime is “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation” (cornell.edu). Examples of such offenses include bribery, credit card fraud, insurance fraud, bank fraud, blackmail, extortion, forgery, securities fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, repair scams, Ponzi and pyramid schemes. These non-violent crimes are responsible for an estimated $250 billion to $1 trillion in economic damages each year (Martinez). Individuals who commit white collar crimes have an increased likelihood to experience injustice compared to those who commit a street crime as noted in multiple studies detailed in various scholarly articles. Also, street criminals have a greater chance of getting caught in their wrongdoings versus white-collar criminals. Those who commit white collar crime make their decisions based on the philosophy or idea that their actions have low risk and a high reward. We face a dilemma in the United States because white-collar criminals are treated with minimal, inequitable punishment due to their social status, whereas the street criminals are treated with the correct, impartial punishment.