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Literature review on white collar crime
Criminological theories compare and contrast
Case study of white collar crime
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Recommended: Literature review on white collar crime
White collar crime can be a very complicated topic because of how fairly new it is. Edwin H. Sutherland helped coin the term white collar crime in December 1939, during his presidential address “The White Collar Criminal” (Friedrichs, 2010). Although white collar crimes had been happening throughout most of history, they didn’t get as much attention until more recently. Since white collar crime is still so new, all definitions have been under a lot of scrutiny. The definition that is currently most acknowledged comes from a group of criminologists that got together in a group, to come up with a definition for white collar crime and that would be accepted by the majority. This group defines white collar crimes as: Illegal or unethical acts that violate fiduciary responsibility or public trust, committed by an individual or organization, usually during the course of legitimate occupational activity, by persons of high or respectable social status for person or organizational gain. (Helmkamp, Ball, and Townsend, 1996: 351) This is a great definition because it covers a lot of areas that are considered white collar crime but can be seen as too specific. By stating that white collar crime is committed by “persons of high or respectable social status” (Helmkamp, Ball, and Townsend, 1996: 351) implies that only people with such status can commit these crimes. While for the most part these persons do commit the majority of the crimes, they are not the only individuals who partake in these illegal acts. Seeing as white collar crime is still a relatively broad topic, criminologists have started using typologies to help narrow down each different area. There is generally considered to be five generic typologies that have a general asso... ... middle of paper ... ...ollar crime that the average citizen is most likely to come into contact with. This is because Works Cited Friedrichs, D. O. (2010). Trusted criminals: White collar crime in contemporary society (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Forti, F., and Visconti, A. (2007) “Cesare Beccaria and white-collar crimes’ public harms,” pp. 490-510 in H.N. Pontell and G. Geis, (Eds.), International Handbook of white-collar and corporate crime. New York: Springer. Helmkamp, J., Ball, R. A., & Townsend, K. (1996). White collar crime?: Proceedings of the Academic Workshop Definitional Dilemma--Can and Should There Be a Universal Definition of White Collar Crime?. Morgantown, W. Va.: National White Collar Crime Center, Training and Research Institute. Hodson, R., & Sullivan, T. A. (20120). The social organization of work (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
The news article that I decided to do my assignment on is about a bank manager, Debra Anne Chapin, that embezzled 2 million dollars from a bank. The news article’s title is, “Former manager jailed for cheating bank out of $2M; Woman used cash to pay bills, gamble and feed her cocaine habit.” The crime took place in Calgary between June 1, 2006 and June, 30 2008. This embezzlement is a classic case of white collar crime and demonstrates numerous criminological theories.
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
In recent years people in America have become curious about white-collar criminals and white-collar crimes. Notorious instances of white-collar cases have peaked interest in the subject as well. The idea of white-collar developed in criminological changed over time. A type of white-collar crime called corporate crime has been found in the United States for years. The government has created systems where they can control white-collar and corporate crime. There are reforms that could effectively address white-collar crimes. Organized crime is usually merged with the Mafia, and other illegal groups, when heard by Americans. Organized crime and white-collar crime differ in the way they are committed and the people who commit these crimes.
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.
Peterson, R, Krivo, L, & Hagan, J. (2006). The many colors of crime. NY: New York University Press.
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
White collar crime is common due to its easy and non-violent nature. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, this term was coined in 1939 and is now synonymous with the full array of frauds committed by business and government professionals. These kinds of crimes are most relatable to the opportunity theory of crime; this theory proposes that offenders make rational decisions and therefore select targets that may offer high reward with low risk and effort. Individuals commit these crimes through illegitimate means in order for the company or enterprise within which they are employed to obtain monetary gains. These crimes greatly revolve around the opportunity theory of crime; it is easily hid from discovery and allows for high reward
White-collar crime is a non-violet crime that is presented by some person, customarily for financial benefit. The average administrative criminal is an office worker, business chairman, or authorities.
One of the most recent stories involving white-collar crimes in the United States involves the Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo is banking and a financial institution that offers financial services to very many people in the United States as well as around the world. As reported by the Washington Post, Wells Fargo as banking and a financial institution was involved defrauding its customers millions of dollars through their employees. It was reported that the employees were involved in the opening of close to 2 million bank accounts with Wells Fargo and proceeded to offer credit cards towards the same as a way of attracting the huge bonuses that were being offered (Merle, 2017). The white-collar crime perpetuated by Wells Fargo falls under the Corporate
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, white collar crime is a crime that is committed by business and government professionals; these crimes consist of lying, cheating and stealing. As the Federal Bureau of Investigation states, “It is not a victimless crime, a single scam can destroy a company, devastate families by wiping out their savings, or cost investors billions of dollars” (“White Collar Crime”). These crimes affect everyone in the United States, from the working class, to the middle and upper classes. The most common types of white collar crime consist of embezzlement and insider trading (“White Collar Crime”).
The term white-collar crime refers to “unethical business practices committed by people in the course of their work lives” (Manza). Although people tend to consider street crimes more dangerous than white-collar crimes, the last one could have more negative consequences and harm more people in a society than the first one. White-collar crimes can be practiced in many different ways, such as stealing money to the employer, or corporate leaders making decisions to seek profits and causing injury or harm to innocent people. The fraudulent acts of Enron and the 2008 financial crisis violated federal and state laws. However, the criminal justice system did not give fair punishment to the responsible ones, because they got modest prison sentences,
There are many factors as to why there are many problems associated with defining white-collar crimes. The first official definition of white-collar crime was created by Edwin Sutherland, the pioneer of the study of white-collar crime. He defined white-collar crime as “crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.” Many of Sutherland’s critics noted that in terms of conceptual ambiguity, the definition was too vague and loose for any lawmakers to identify this crime. One critic found that the vagueness surrounding the definition fostered ambiguous use of the term and vague interpretations ((Payne, 2012). In recent criticisms, a variety of other terms have been used synonymous with the
This weeks assigned readings and videos on the subject of white-collar crime emphasizes the issues that for the most part most victims of white-collar crime are naturally unaware that they are being taken advantage of thus enabling their potential victimization of said crimes. Not all crimes are comparatively equal in their impact upon society nothing could be truer than white-collar crimes since these crimes have the potential for long lasting effects even after their commission. This essay will attempt to explore this idea and show some of these examples of victimization and secondary costs.
This paper will explore different types of white collar crime from some of the most common white collar crimes like fraud, identity theft and scams, as well as other types of white collar crimes like embezzlement and tax fraud. This paper will use research found online that explains the different white collar crimes as well as consequences, definitions and even companies or people who have committed those crimes. This paper will also discuss my views and opinions as well as research that I have found.
Champion, D 2011, ‘White-collar crimes and organizational offending: An integral approach’, International Journal of Business, Humanities, and Technology, vol. 1 no. 3, pp. 34-35.