Misconception On White Collar Crime

Criminals walk amongst us everyday. When people hear the word criminal, “murderer”, “robber”, and “arsonist”, are what most people think of. No one thinks about the CEO of a billion dollar company, the everyday pharmacist, or even a trusted personal financial advisor. This is due to the “respectability” and “high social status” these occupations hold (Temchenko, 2016). Of the many crimes committed every year, white collar crimes are one of the most highest crimes committed because they are overlooked. On July 28, 2016 , 14-year-old Bresha Meadows, who had no prior record of violence, was arrested and potentially up for a life sentence in prison for saving her family from more domestic abuse by shooting her father (Jeltsen, 2016) . In 2003 the former chairman and chief executive of MCSi Michael E. Peppel, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy, money laundering and filing false documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission was only sentenced to spend seven days in prison because Peppel was a “remarkably good man”. The charges against Peppel carry a minimum 8 year sentence (Henning, 2013). Sentencing disparities between white collar crime versus street crime is a crime within itself and some form of justice needs to be served.

In this assignment, you will examine the various criminal theories that were discussed in the reading. In a page or two, explain which theories best explain white collar crime.

In this chapters controversial issue, the author looks at if white-collar criminals are under prosecuted. Across the United States there a number of crimes that are committed which are considered white collar. One example is when Bernard Madoff defrauded investors of 50 billion dollars in the largest Ponzi Scheme that has ever happened in American History. Another example is the John Rigas and his son were convicted of fraud when they used millions of corporate dollars for personal use. The term white-collar is used when a person of higher economic status commits a crime. However, the public remains relatively indifferent to white-collar crimes. There are allegations that white-collar crimes are under prosecuted. At the local level, offices

We like every other person in this world, when we hear the word crime; we automatically get an image of a person from a low class in a bad neighborhood and coming from a troubled family. However, who knew that those who are educated and coming from a wealthy family can also pertain to the world of crime and mischief. We as human beings tend to also be judgmental, assuming that only unprivileged men have a drive to commit an offense against the law then a prosperous individual. Nevertheless, it is not our evil doing that we are regularly pushed to foresee this problem this way, especially not when it is the media, the government, and the media are the ones who painting this picture for us.

Crime can occur on various platforms such as the streets of a neighborhood or at a corporation on Wall Street. As a result, crime and criminal behaviour can be explained using a broad set of theories presented by scholars with the focus ranging from the individual offender to the offender’s environment and external influences. White-collar crime coined by Edwin Sutherland, for example, is a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation (Tatham, 2016).

There are many different forms of crimes, crimes generally fall into one or two forms of crime, white collar crimes and crimes that are committed by the everyday person, we need to understand these category’s

"The concept of white-collar crime was certainly not invented in order to provide comfort for standard approaches to causation in criminology," (Nelken, 2007, p. 744). White-collar crime is certainly a complex issue to study from a theoretical perspective, not least because of the inherent diversity among the types of white collar crimes, among the types of white collar criminals, and among the types of victims. Certainly, the same theories that address crimes such as domestic theft and burglary can have some bearing on understanding white-collar crime. Both white-collar and other types of theft-like activities involve the deliberate breaking of laws, social codes, and norms. There may be at play similar variables such as psychopathology. Prevailing theories of crimes like burglary and domestic theft can also be applied equally as well to white-collar crime. For example, strain theory and control theory can both be relevant to the study of white-collar crime.

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 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.

When we hear the word ‘crime,’ we automatically assume that it involves criminal or civil crimes. These crimes usually involve people in robberies, murders, or even injuries. However, there are also crimes that are committed by a company or a business. Business crimes or white collar crimes are crimes committed by a businesses or government professional. These crimes are often committed using confidential information attained by an individual to commit fraud. There are diverse types of white collar crimes, including tax fraud, telemarketing fraud, and insider trading.

Quinney (1964), “Because the validity of white collar crime as a form of crime has been a subject of severe controversy, the question of conceptual clarity has largely been ignored. Today, as a result, the meaning of the concept is not always clear” (p208).

Many Criminologists have studied different theories to explain the reason behind the commission of white-collar crimes. Many of the current studies focus on a wide range of factors, rather than on few factors, to explain why people commit white-collar crimes in modern society. Sutherland theorized that white-collar crimes and conventional crimes were similar enough to focus on poverty and social pathologies as the base reasoning for committing each type of crime (Friedrichs, 2014). However, many of the people who commit white collar crimes do not live in poverty, and generally respected in their field of expertise. Consequently, a general theory of white collar crime fails to consider a variety of other factors and places those crimes in

Since the beginning of time crime has continued to escalate. Labeled as one of the richest crimes, which is committed. With many questioning whether the amount of damaged caused by these criminals is worth the sentences imposed. Someone whom is respected and has a form of social status commonly commits white-collar crime, organized crime and political crime. Throughout the following essay we will explore true examples of people who were arrested for white-collar crime, political crime and a crime committed by someone in an organized crime.

problems. During the 1700's in England it was not a crime for people to steal

In the modern society, the authority of police becomes more powerful and there are a lot of new laws issued to restrict personal behaviors, bringing a more peaceful community to the public. Indeed, the incidences of horrible crimes such as robbery, kidnapping and murder decrease, partially because of the better living condition. However, some other types of crimes emerge recently. These new crimes are endangering the fairness and operation of the society. White-collar crime is a new type crime which is less horrible than crimes such as robbery, but it is a serious threat to ethical standards of the society and people’s life. To prevent the occurrence of white-collar crime, it is necessary to know what factors may cause people to commit such crimes. Moreover, many white-collar criminals have stable jobs and satisfactory living conditions. The motivations of these criminals may be related to their personalities. It is important to discover inner factors which influence people’s decisions in white-collar crimes.