The phrase “white-collar crime” was termed in 1939 by Edwin H. Sutherland (Barnett, n.d.). The FBI defines white collar crime in several ways. White-collar crimes “are characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust and are not dependent on the application or threat of physical force or violence” (“White-Collar Crime,” n.d.). The FBI recognizes that “the motivation behind these crimes is financial—to obtain or avoid losing money, property, or services or to secure a personal or business advantage” (“White-Collar Crime,” n.d.). Usually white collar crimes are considered to be nonviolent and victimless and the offenders are usually of a high socioeconomic background. Some examples of white collar crime can include “public corruption, …show more content…
White-collar crime is usually non-violent, whereas street crime is violent and even deadly. The main difference between these crimes are the types of offenders. At first white-collar crimes were seen “as the work of disadvantaged young men from broken homes and decaying neighborhoods” (Weisburd, 2001). Sutherland rocked the criminal world by breaking away from the traditional way offenders were depicted. He identified the offenders as “middle-aged men of respectability and high social status” (Weisburd, 2001). Sutherland stated that these criminals “were well respected in the community” (Weisburd, 2001). White-collar criminals are more likely to be “rich, wealthy and elite people”, but they can also be poor (Minnaar, 2008). There are always exceptions to the rule. For instance, Martha Stewart is a prime example. She is the opposite of the typical white-collar criminal. She is a white woman who committed fraud and went to jail for her crime. Most white-collar criminals tend to be sane and in their right mind. They are not mentally ill; they just get caught up in greed and power. On the other hand, violent street criminals are a different story. Some of the worst criminals involved in street crime can suffer from mental illness. These illnesses can include “major depressive disorder” and “schizophrenia” (Oldemeyer, 2009). Criminals can also suffer from psychosis. These criminals suffering from mental illness do have the power to kill innocent people. Those who have killed usually “graduated or had received the equivalent of a high school diploma” (Oldemeyer, 2009). Many offenders are men that have “histories of criminal activity, substance abuse, and family dysfunction” (Oldemeyer, 2009). Not all violent street criminals are mentally ill, in fact most offenders are not mentally incapacitated in any way. Street offenders tend to commit crimes for several reasons. Offenders tend to get caught up in the moment and
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)
White collar crime is a term created by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 that refers to crimes committed by people of higher social status, companies, and the government according to the book “White-Collar Crime in a Nutshell” by Ellen Podgor and Jerold Israel. White collar crimes are usually non-violent crimes committed in order to have a financial-gain (Podgor and Israel 3). A very well known white collar crime that has even been taught in many history classes is the Watergate scandal. This is a white collar crime that was committed by government authorities. Watergate was a crime that shocked the nation.
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.
It is customary to divide the categories of crimes, according to their violence ratio. For example, there are violent crimes, typically thought of as street crime, such as first degree, second degree, manslaughter and non-violent crimes such as blackmail, bribery, embezzlement, and forgery. However, the term “violent” can be applied to both street crimes and white collar crimes. Although street crimes are usually thought of as taking something by force, white collar crimes are typically perpetrated by a “respectable person”. The Department of Justice defines white collar crimes as “those classes of non-violent illegal activities which principally involve traditional ideas of deceit, deception, concealment, manipulation, breach of trust,
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
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
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 perception can vary from one individual to another. “A recent survey conducted by the National White Collar Crime Center (NWCCC) confirm that the public considers certain white collar crimes as more serious than some street crimes, according to Drs. Marilyn Price and Donna Norris” (Perri, J.D., CFE, CPA, 2011, p. 23). Even though white collar crimes do not seem a violent as someone that commits murder; there is still major damage done. For example, a fraud victim goes through a lot of hardship. They can be harassed, have their identity stolen and lose everything. This in many cases can be looked at as a severe crime. Valuables taken during a burglary can be replaced easily, but someone’s identity and livelihood cannot be given back. Most white...
The foundation of our country, the keystone to our democratic system, is the integrity of social institutions that we not only assume we can trust but have come to rely on for most aspects in our daily lives. The integrity of these social institutions can only be achieved through building blocks such as internal controls and independent, verifiable information. White collar criminals build a sense of false integrity around them in order to gain the trust of their victims, ranging from the young to the very old. Friedrich’s (2010) Trusted Criminals defines the foundation to white collar crime, the level of trust we have for those in power. We trust those in charge, those with power, and those who represent the integrity of our social institutions.
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.
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.
What is street crime? According to McDonald and Balkin (1983) define street crime as “personal contact criminal victimization (p.419)”. As we read this article it argues from different viewpoint that street justice can be explained from different theoretical perspectives. There are three theoretical perspectives that examines the role of justice as a means of informal social control and as a reactionary process to dynamics of social strain and subcultural demands. This theoretical analysis is then applied to concepts of justice, including retributive, distributive, restorative, and procedural. The derived street justice paradigm incorporates these various forms of justice as they are linked with cultural imperatives associated with street culture and