Rebecca, I agree in your statement that the media and public focus less on white collar crime and more on street crime because it is more horrific.
One of these reasons is because unlike other crimes, white collar crime is relatively unseen. No physicality is used in their occurrence and no one physically takes money out of a victim’s pocket. Burglaries and assaults are far more visible than a white collar crime. It is also extremely difficult to find evidence and prove someone guilty of a white collar crime.
Often the victims of white collar crimes do not even know they are a victim. In this way, white collar crime is a silent danger. Even when people realize they have been targeted, many still do not report it. As 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.
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
White collar crime, as a rule, is less visible than conventional crime. A white collar crime, by definition, is a non-violent act involving deception, typically committed by a business person or public official. lawyershop.com
Many people in society are unsure on what white collar crime actually is. There are different opinions on what white collar crime should be defined as. A strong definition would be any violation of criminal, civil or regulatory laws or unethical actions committed in the course of one’s occupation. These individuals are usually very respectable in society and have “high-status”. White collar crime is much larger than your traditional street crime: It harms a larger pool of people and can go on for many years under the radar
When I say white collar crime a few ideas usually will fill the average persons head. Many will immediately think of Bernie Madoff. This scumbag ran a ponzie scheme spanning multiple decades and made over 60 billion dollars in the process. He was eventually caught and thankfully is spending the rest of his natural born life in prison. Someone might also think of Martha Stewart. Martha, to the surprise of her fans, was much more than that loveable women on the home shopping network or the cooking channel. Martha was caught committing an act called insider trading. According to (The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission), insider trading is when an individual has knowledge not known to the public about what is going to occur within a company
Honestly, I believe both street crime and white collar crime are both very problematic in our society. The reason being, both these crimes are affecting our society in a bad way. It is like
White-collar crime is defined as the financial motivations of non-violent crimes that are committed by professionals of business and those of the government. In the field of criminology, Edwin Suthelan (1939), a socialist who was the first person to define white-collar crime as a crime that respectable and those people of higher social status commit. The crimes include those associated with fraud, bribery, embezzlement, cybercrime, money laundering, theft of the identity and many more crimes that are nonviolent. For the white collar crimes, the offenses committed should produce some gains financially. The crimes are thereby committed by those persons holding various positions in businesses or organizations, and it is because of this position they can gain access to amounts of huge money that they get from the people like customers with whom they serve. The criminals involved are not caught in activities that are violent, involved in drug issues or illegal activities.
amount of time and persons involved in this discovery makes the task onerous. Consequently, it is difficult to measure or prosecute white-collar crime because it is expensive and is a long drawn out process.
The laws against higher status crime, the White Collar crime, are therefore relatively lenient and rarely enforced, but the laws against crime which is committed by those with a lower status, are harsher and more often enforced because they are so visible and detected much more easily. The activities of White Collar crime occur on a daily basis, but there is no public outcry or moral panics about it and therefore no legislation made, whereas, 'street' crime attracts massive law enforcement. As Jeffrey Reiman (2001) so aptly stated, "The rich get richer and the poor get prison".
I think society and the media focus on street crimes than white-collar crime because I feel that street crimes are more public than white-collar crimes and more attention is drawn on to street crimes. Also, violence is a huge part of street crimes and any crimes that involve some kind of violence, I think, causes for more commotion and attention. I think that the media focuses on street crimes because many individuals within the media want to discover news and be one of the first to speak about those crimes. Street crimes can also be focused on by society and the media because people either want to be informed of their surroundings or they want to inform others about what is going on. So, I'd say that the media is mostly more of wanting to
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.
Secondly, these individuals or organizations truly believe they will accomplish their illicit act(s) and not get caught. Finally, all too often, individuals or people belong to organizations committing white-collar crimes try and keep up with their lifestyle, don’t want to be viewed as a failure, or have a propensity toward low self-control or complete control. Sadly, often they usually only have to pay a fine and the people involved are rarely prosecuted. And if they are arrested, they don’t receive lengthly sentences. In addition, people engaged in white-collar crime fly under the radar often-negotiating plea deals; therefore, the public’s interests in these crimes are short lived. If white-collar crimes made there way to the mainstream media as much as violent crimes, and the news media followed-up on the damage these crimes caused to their victims, legislators might be compelled by their constituents to amend the sentencing guidelines making the consequences for these criminals a lot more
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
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.
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).