What crimes do people with a high status commit during the course of their occupations?
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White collar crime is very topical now, with all the furore over MPs’ expenses. Are MPs’ guilty of excessive claims in fact whilte collar criminals? Here are some revision notes to help you decide. Show
White Collar Crime Edwin Sutherland defined white collar crime as: “Crimes committed by persons of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupations.” Well, for a start: •It is hard to detect Then there are often good reasons why businesses and others don’t want to talk about white collar crime: •Firms may not want to admit they have been victims of theft – effect
on business On the part of the police and the law: •Police devote few resources to identifying white collar crime And finally, society in general tends to have an ambiguous view of white collar crime: •White collar crime is often not considered to be crime – people ofte talk about perks of the job But one issue we should bear in mind in all this is: •Who has power to make these judgements? In all the focus on how much white collar crime there is, its easy to forget to be critical of the concept itself – is it a useful category? There really is room for debate here; it can be argued that it is useful and that it directs our attention to other forms of crime, issues of power, and the socially constructed nature of crime and deviance. For instance, what about: •Occupational crime – crimes committed by professionals in the course of their occupation Are these all the
same sort of act? Some would say not, and argue that the category of white collar crime has to be further developed. journal article Nội dung chính Show
American Journal of Sociology Vol. 58, No. 3 (Nov., 1952) , pp. 263-271 (9 pages) Published By: The University of Chicago Press https://www.jstor.org/stable/2771836 Read and download Log in through your school or library Alternate access options For independent researchers Read Online Read 100 articles/month free Subscribe to JPASS Unlimited reading + 10 downloads Purchase article $14.00 - Download now and later Read Online (Free) relies on page scans, which are not currently available to screen readers. To access this article, please contact JSTOR User Support. We'll provide a PDF copy for your screen reader.With a personal account, you can read up to 100 articles each month for free. Get StartedAlready have an account? Log in Monthly Plan
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Abstract The major theoretical significance of white-collar crime lies in its ambiguity as simultaneously crime and not crime. This is symptomatic of a diversity of status systems peculiar to the social structure. Research can begin with the ambivalent attitudes of individuals to white-collar offenses and to the laws against them. A Norwegian study revaled in businessmen a strikingly ambivalent attitude to price control and rationing and to violations of the regulations. Another study showed ambivalent attitudes on labor legislation among legislators. The function of law is to preserve peace in the face of these conflicts. Journal Information Current issues are now on the Chicago Journals website. Read the latest issue.Established in 1895 as the first US scholarly journal in its field, the American Journal of Sociology (AJS) presents pathbreaking work from all areas of sociology, with an emphasis on theory building and innovative methods. AJS strives to speak to the general sociology reader and is open to contributions from across the social sciences—political science, economics, history, anthropology, and statistics in addition to sociology—that seriously engage the sociological literature to forge new ways of understanding the social. AJS offers a substantial book review section that identifies the most salient work of both emerging and enduring scholars of social science. Commissioned review essays appear occasionally, offering the readers a comparative, in-depth examination of prominent titles. Publisher Information Since its origins in 1890 as one of the three main divisions of the University of Chicago, The University of Chicago Press has embraced as its mission the obligation to disseminate scholarship of the highest standard and to publish serious works that promote education, foster public understanding, and enrich cultural life. Today, the Journals Division publishes more than 70 journals and hardcover serials, in a wide range of academic disciplines, including the social sciences, the humanities, education, the biological and medical sciences, and the physical sciences. Rights & Usage This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals.[1] It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation".[2] Typical white-collar crimes could include wage theft, fraud, bribery, Ponzi schemes, insider trading, labor racketeering, embezzlement, cybercrime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery.[3] White-collar crime overlaps with corporate crime. Definitional issues[edit]Modern criminology generally prefers to classify the type of crime and the topic:
Relationship to other types of crime[edit]Blue-collar crime[edit]The types of crime committed are a function of what is available to the potential offender. Thus, those employed in relatively unskilled environments have fewer opportunities to exploit than those who work in situations where large financial transactions occur.[8] Blue-collar crime tends to be more obvious and thus attracts more active police attention such as vandalism or shoplifting.[9] In contrast, white-collar employees can incorporate legitimate and criminal behavior, thus making themselves less obvious when committing the crime. Therefore, blue-collar crime will more often use physical force, whereas in the corporate world, the identification of a victim is less obvious and the issue of reporting is complicated by a culture of commercial confidentiality to protect shareholder value. It is estimated that a great deal of white-collar crime is undetected or, if detected, it is not reported. Corporate crime[edit]Corporate crime benefits the corporation (company or other type of business organization), rather than individuals. It may, however, result from decisions of high-ranking individuals within the corporation.[10] Corporations are not, unlike individuals, litigated in criminal courts, which means the term "crime" does not really apply.[11] Litigation usually takes place in civil courts or by institutions with jurisdiction over specific types of offences, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that litigates violations of financial market and investment statutes.[12] State-corporate crime[edit]The negotiation of agreements between a state and a corporation will be at a relatively senior level on both sides, this is almost exclusively a white-collar "situation" which offers the opportunity for crime. Although law enforcement claims to have prioritized white-collar crime,[13] evidence shows that it continues to be a low priority.[14] When senior levels of a corporation engage in criminal activity using the company this is sometimes called control fraud. Organized transnational crime[edit]Organized transnational crime is organized criminal activity that takes place across national jurisdictions, and with advances in transportation and information technology, law enforcement officials and policymakers have needed to respond to this form of crime on a global scale. Some examples include human trafficking, money laundering, drug smuggling, illegal arms dealing, terrorism, and cybercrime. Although it is impossible to precisely gauge transnational crime, the Millennium Project, an international think tank, assembled statistics on several aspects of transnational crime in 2009:[15]
Occupational crime[edit]Individuals may commit crime during employment or unemployment. The two most common forms are theft and fraud. Theft can be of varying degrees, from a pencil to furnishings to a car. Insider trading, the trading of stock by someone with access to publicly unavailable information, is a type of fraud.[15] [edit]The crimes related to the national interests consist mainly of treason. In the modern world, there are a lot of nations which divide the crimes into some laws. "Crimes Related to Inducement of Foreign Aggression" is the crime of communicating with aliens secretly to cause foreign aggression or menace. "Crimes Related to Foreign Aggression" is the treason of co-operating with foreign aggression positively regardless of the national inside and outside. "Crimes Related to Insurrection" is the internal treason. Depending on a country, criminal conspiracy is added to these. One example is Jho Low, a mega thief and traitor who stole billions in USA currency from a Malaysian government fund and is now on a run as a fugitive.[16] Demographics[edit]According to a 2016 study,[17]
Punishment[edit]In the United States, sentences for white-collar crimes may include a combination of imprisonment, fines, restitution, community service, disgorgement, probation, or other alternative punishment.[18][19] These punishments grew harsher after the Jeffrey Skilling and Enron scandal, when the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush, defining new crimes and increasing the penalties for crimes such as mail and wire fraud. Sometimes punishment for these crimes could be hard to determine due to the fact that convincing the courts that what the offender has done is challenging within itself.[20] In other countries, such as China, white-collar criminals can be given the death penalty under aggravating circumstances,[21] yet some countries have a maximum of 10–25 years imprisonment. Certain countries like Canada consider the relationship between the parties to be a significant feature on sentence when there is a breach of trust component involved.[22] Questions about sentencing disparity in white-collar crime continue to be debated.[23] The FBI, concerned with identifying this type of offense, collects annual statistical information on only three categories: fraud, counterfeiting/forgery, and embezzlement. All other types of white-collar crime are listed in a "miscellaneous" category.[citation needed] In the United States, the longest sentences for white-collar crimes have been for the following: Sholam Weiss (845 years for racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the collapse of National Heritage Life Insurance Company); Norman Schmidt and Charles Lewis (330 years and 30 years, respectively, for "high-yield investment" scheme); Bernard Madoff (150 years for $65 billion fraud scheme); Frederick Brandau (55 years for $117 million Ponzi scheme); Eduardo Masferrer (30 years for accounting fraud); Chalana McFarland (30 years for mortgage fraud scheme); Lance Poulsen (30 years for $2.9 billion fraud).[24] Theories[edit]From the perspective of an offender, the easiest targets to entrap in "white collar" crime are those with certain degree of vulnerability or those with symbolic or emotional value to the offender.[25] Examples of these people can be family members, clients, and close friends who are wrapped up in personal or business proceedings with the offender. The way that most criminal operations are conducted is through a series of different particular techniques. In this case, a technique is a certain way to complete a desired task. When one is committing a crime, whether it be shoplifting or tax fraud, it is always easier to successfully pull off the task with experience in the technique. Shoplifters who are experienced at stealing in plain sight are much more successful than those who do not know how to steal. The major difference between a shoplifter and someone committing a white collar crime is that the techniques used are not physical but instead consist of acts like talking on the phone, writing, and entering data.[25] Often these criminals utilize the "blame game theory", a theory in which certain strategies are utilized by an organization or business and its members in order to strategically shift blame by pushing responsibility to others or denying misconduct.[26] This theory is particularly used in terms of organizations and indicates that offenders often do not take blame for their actions. Many members of organizations will try to absolve themselves of responsibility when things go wrong.[27] Forbes Magazine lays out four theories for what leads a criminal to commit a "white collar" crime.[28] The first is that there are poorly designed job incentives for the criminal. Most finance professionals are given a certain type of compensation or reward for short-term mass profits. If a company incentivizes an employee to help commit a crime, such as assisting in a Ponzi Scheme, many employees will partake in order to receive the reward or compensation. Often, this compensation is given in the form of a cash "bonus" on top of their salaries. By doing a task in order to receive a reward, many employees feel as though they are not responsible for the crime, as they have not ordered it. The "blame game theory" comes into play as those being asked to carry out the illegal activities feel as though they can place the blame on their bosses instead of themselves. The second theory is that the company's management is very relaxed when it comes to enforcing ethics. If unethical practices are already a commonplace in the business, employees will see that as a "green light" to conduct unethical and unlawful business practices to further the business. This idea also ties into Forbes' third theory, that most stock traders see unethical practices as harmless. Many see white collar crime as a victimless crime, which is not necessarily true. Since many of these stock traders cannot see the victims of their crimes, it seems as if it hurts no one. The last theory is that many firms have unrealistic, large goals. They preach the mentality that employees should "do what it takes".[28] See also[edit]
References[edit]
Further reading[edit]
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What would be a crime committed by someone in a higher social position?In criminology, blue-collar crime is any crime committed by an individual from a lower social class as opposed to white-collar crime which is associated with crime committed by someone of a higher-level social class. What term refers to crimes committed by respectable and high social status in the course of their occupations group of answer choices?White Collar Crime. Edwin Sutherland's term for crimes committed by people of respectable and high social status in the course of their occupations, for example, bribery o public officials, securities, violations, embezzlement, false advertising and price fixing. What is called social crime?Societal crime is defined as the total number of crimes committed by members of the society, or as the rate of these crimes. This definition is not self-evident. Other senses of the concept could be envisioned, such as the harm that these crimes cause to society. What refers to the illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf?In criminology, corporate crime refers to crimes committed either by a corporation (i.e., a business entity having a separate legal personality from the natural persons that manage its activities), or by individuals acting on behalf of a corporation or other business entity (see vicarious liability and corporate ... What term refers to crimes committed by respectable and high social status in the course of their occupations group of answer choices?"White-collar crime" is a term first coined by sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1949 who defined it as a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status during his occupation.
Which of the following terms describes crime that is committed as part of one's occupation?Applying a criminal law definition to white- collar crime, white-collar crimes are those criminally illegal acts committed during the course of one's job.
Who commits whiteWho commits white-collar crimes? Most are white men with at least some higher education, from middle-class backgrounds. They are in their late 30s to 40s, employed, usually married, with religious and community affiliations. Most have engaged in less serious criminal activity in the past.
What are the main causes of whiteCauses for white collar crimes
They are caused due to the following reasons – - greed, - lack of awareness among people, - lack of strict rules and laws, - lack of accountability, - peer support, - loopholes of legal structure, - technological and industrial development, etc.
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