What types of crime are considered to be the most costly to a country? Could it be street crime? Vandalism, breaking and entering, carjacking and pick pocketing are all examples of street crime, “a crime committed by average people against other people or organizations, usually in public spaces” (Open Education Sociology Dictionary). Street crime usually involves material possessions of large monetary amounts, costing the global economy an estimated $16.6 billion (Simon) so perhaps this could this be the most expensive type of crime. However, according to the 2014 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, corporate crime and fraud costs the global economy more than $3.7 trillion (ACFE). Investopedia defines corporate fraud, or …show more content…
Along with the huge amounts of power that come with big corporations, comes the temptation of money and the corrupt nature of wanting to attain more at any and all costs. During the early 1900’s, a sect of journalists and writers became frustrated with the corruption found inside corporations and took actions to correct this behavior. In what is now known as the work of the “muckrakers”, large corporations were exposed for “a variety of illegal, unethical, harmful, and otherwise abominable and scandalous practices” including “corruption in municipalities, unhealthful, inhumane conditions in food-processing plants, dangerous conditions in coal mines, illegal and deceptive advertising, the abuse of mental patients by staff, the exploitation of factory workers, the running of ‘sweat shops’ (Goode, White Collar Crime)” and the list continues. However, while the new information characterized this type of behavior as “deviant” it was not in fact “criminal” since no laws were in place against such practices (Goode, White Collar Crime). In 1906, legislation was passed regulating the food processing industry and later, in 1916, the first child labor laws were passed (Goode, White Collar Crime). The term “white collar crime”, however, did not surface until 1939 (Goode, White Collar Crime). During a talk, given by Edwin Sutherland, before the American Sociological Society meeting, Sutherland used the term “white collar crime” to describe “crimes committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation” (Legal Information Institute). The types of crimes that are typically associated with this phrase today include, but are not limited to; bank fraud, blackmail, bribery, counterfeiting, embezzlement, extortion, forgery, insider trading, investment schemes, larceny, money laundering and tax evasion. Today, the white collar criminal,
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.
By definition, burglary is typically defined as the unlawful entry into almost any structure not just a home or business with the intent to commit any crime inside not just limited to the crimes of theft or larceny. No physical breaking and entering is required for it to be considered the crime of burglary. The suspect may do something as simple as trespassing through an open door at someone’s house, or an open door in the back of a restaurant. Unlike robbery, which involves use of force or fear to obtain another person's property, there is usually no victim that is present during a burglary and that’s what makes it different from other crimes with similar motives.
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.
President Barack Obama, the United States of America’s 44th president is on his second term of presidency and has addressed more social and financial issues during his tenure than crime control policies. President Obama came into office in 2009 and continues to serve as President of the United States. As one evaluates the policies that are in place during his administration a conclusion can be made that his primary focus has been that of health care, civil rights, and foreign policy amongst other agendas that don’t necessarily address his crime policy. President Obama has not proposed any majorly significant crime policies or drastic changes in the crime policies that were in place prior to his appointment (Marion & Oliver, 2012).
The minimum sentencing regarding drug crimes should be reduced because it negatively impacts everyone involved and is an unjust punishment across the board. I will discuss how the War on Drugs came about, how the current system for these crimes is racist and classist, the negative impacts that come from it across the board, the prison overcrowding issues, and how the minimum sentencing policy is ineffective. No matter how you look at it this issue, one wins in this situation and it’s time for a change.
2 Companies are exposed to crimes either from the inside, or the outside. White-collar crime is a complication; harming companies in our society, which costs millions. An example of a white-collar crime would be the Ford Pinto case. When gas prices were rising in the United States, people started to search for economical cars.
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.
Within a company, illegal practices can be seen by many as the “in thing” and the people working within that environment may not see what they are doing as morally wrong. The issue of the lack of media coverage of these types of crimes must also not be overlooked.
During the 1800’s, business leaders who built their affluence by stealing and bribing public officials to propose laws in their favor were known as “robber barons”. J.P. Morgan, a banker, financed the restructuring of railroads, insurance companies, and banks. In addition, Andrew Carnegie, the steel king, disliked monopolistic trusts. Nonetheless, ruthlessly destroying the businesses and lives of many people merely for personal profit; Carnegie attained a level of dominance and wealth never before seen in American history, but was only able to obtain this through acts that were dishonest and oftentimes, illicit.
In order to coherently understand the meaning of white collar crime, Friedrichs (2010) states that it must be approached in stages. The first stage is polemical, and is related to the definition. The second and third stages are typological and operational. As previously mentioned, white collar crime has been quite heavily debated, and currently there is no definition that is generally accepted by criminologists. Some argue that the term white collar crime should be abandoned altogether, and another issue is where it is appropriate to draw the line between legal practices and illegal practices (Hayes & Prenzler, 2012; Dobovšek & Slak, 2015). Throughout time, the scope of white collar crime has broadened to include many other typologies of white collar crime, due to the fact that technology has and continues to advance. The most common types of white collar crime include occupational crime, corporate crime, state crime, financial
Shover, N, & Hochstetler, A. (2006). Choosing white-collar crime. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Marilyn Price and Donna Norris” (Perri, J.D., CFE, CPA, 2011, p. 23). Even though white collar crimes do not seem as 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 serious crime.
This essay will talk about what Situational Crime Prevention( SCP) is, it will also discuss the theoretical assumptions that underpin this approach, for example, the nature of the offender as well as examining how the SCP strategy has been used to deal with crime as well as the general pros and cons of such an approach.
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.