1 / 9

White Collar Crime Political Crime

White Collar Crime Political Crime. Social Context Defining WCC Types of WCC/Examples Applying Theory to WCC. Social Context. Concern with “corporate” criminals emerged in the U.S. in the early 1900s “Robber Barons” (Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller) Muckrakers

aretha-massey
Download Presentation

White Collar Crime Political Crime

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. White Collar CrimePolitical Crime Social Context Defining WCC Types of WCC/Examples Applying Theory to WCC

  2. Social Context • Concern with “corporate” criminals emerged in the U.S. in the early 1900s • “Robber Barons” (Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller) • Muckrakers • Upton Sinlcair (1906) The Jungle • Sutherland’s work on “White Collar Crime” • He coined this term • Study of 70 Largest U.S. corporations

  3. Defining White Collar Crime • Sutherland (coined the term) • Respectable/High Social Status • In the course of occupation • Later • Occupational Crime • Organizational/Corporate Crime

  4. Occupational Crime • Employee Theft • Pilferage and Embezzling • “Collective Embezzlement” • Fraud in the Professions • Medical Industry • Financial Fraud • Insider trading

  5. Organizational/Corporate Crime • Financial Crimes • Fraud, cheating, corruption… • Price fixing, price gouging, trade restraint • False Advertising • Bait and Switch • Violent Crimes • Unsafe work conditions • Unsafe products • Environmental Pollution

  6. Comparing the Harm • Property loss • “Street Crimes” (FBI data) = $15 billion • W.C.C. (from several sources) = $400 billion • Death • Street crimes = 17,000 homicides • W.C.C. • 30,000 deaths from unsafe products • 20,000 deaths from environmental pollution • 12,000 deaths from unneeded surgery

  7. Explaining White Collar Crime:Theories that Don’t Work • Merton’s “modes of adaptation” • Poverty, inequality, etc. • Low Self-Control ?? • Gottfredson and Hirschi point to “pilfering” and “embezzlement” as typical white collar offenses • Control theory that emphasizes “stake in conformity”

  8. Explaining White Collar Crime IIWhat Works? • Sutherland (corporate culture, neutralizations) • DA as a “general” theory • Merton’s “Anomie,” Messner & Rosenfeld, Durkheim • “Industrial Prosperity” • Radical Theories • Social harms will not be defined as “crime” if they benefit the wealthy. • Crimes of those in power will be ignored/minimized

  9. W.C.C. and Deterrence Theory: What Might Work…if we tried. • Deterrence: Swift, Certain, Severe punishment will reduce crime • But, must assume “rational calculator” • Problems for some street crime • More applicable W.C.C.? • The Irony • Many white collar criminals are fined an amount less than the “take” from the crime • Calls by policymakers for “self-regulation”

More Related