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. Sentencing disparity is defined as a circumstance where alike cases are not treated similarly or different cases are not treated differently (Council of Europe, 1989). An example would be two men who each stole the same amount of items. Neither have
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.
This essay discusses Sutherland’s concept of white collar crime in the light of whether it is still appropriate in the 21st century. It is worth noting that white collar crime is often perceived as a less serious crime in the society. This is based on several reasons including the fact that the crime receives less media coverage. This incomprehensive media coverage of white collar crime may be attributed to the complex nature of the crime, which makes many incidences go unreported. In other words, it is often difficult to pin point one person as the perpetrator of the crime as it would happen with the case of robbery, knife crime, or drug trafficking. However, white crime remains a serious crime and one that can have serious negative
Why discuss the development of the marketplace? Why is it central to the concept 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.
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
The well-to-do generally come from upper-class families - meaning that they face none of the disadvantages of an absent-parent upbringing - and have no need to rob convenience stores to feed their children, so they bypass petty crime and move on to what is known as white-collar crime; financially motivated nonviolent crime committed by business and government professionals. “The temptation to commit white collar crimes is far greater for the wealthy” says Sal Bommarito of the Mic Network. Petty crime offers no worthwhile reward to the 1%, as the money earned from a late-night robbery would likely end up being spent on their breakfast the next morning, but the hundreds of thousands of dollars that could be made from corporate embezzlement could be the down payment on the new Ferrari they’d been eyeing. The lack of street crime but over-saturation of white-collar crime committed by the upper-class is ultimately just as, if not more, harmful on a global scale. Canada alone lost $74,387,465.23 in 2014 due to mass marketing fraud, a crime generally committed by white-collar criminals. In contrast, there were 14, 258 reported thefts of $5000 or more perpetrated in Canada in the same year, resulting in an approximate loss of $71, 290,000, undercutting mass marketing fraud by $3,097,465.23. The difference lays in the types of crimes being committed; the poor are more likely to commit street crime whilst the rich are ultimately more likely to commit fraudulent corporate
Sentence disparity is when two offenders commit the same crime under the same circumstances and are given different sentences. The types and length of the sentences can very although the same crime was committed. In this type of sentencing there is no legal basis that can explain the differences of the sentencing. In other word this is a form of unequal treatment. This is a major problem within the justice system, because two judges can be faced with similar cases and can give two different verdicts. One judge could give an unfair and unnecessary outcome while the other could give a lesser sentenceSentence disparity is when two offenders commit the same crime under the same circumstances and are given different sentences. The types and length
In 1939, American sociologist Edwin Sutherland introduced the phrase “white-collar crime”. White-collar crime is a nonviolent crime committed by a business or large corporations. They are usually scams or frauds to gain wealth in society. The people who are guilty of this crime lie, cheat and steal from investors of their company or business. Even though these crimes are non-violent, they have major impacts on the society. Their companies become non existent and families get destroyed. All of their life savings and savings for their children get taken away, and they become bankrupt. Not only does it affect their families, the investors who believed in their business lose millions or even billions of dollars.
Welcome to the age of white collar crime. A time when the words thieves and businessmen go hand in hand. White collar criminals don't get their hands dirty in their work. They use their heads to get what they want instead of using a little muscle. These criminals are just as dangerous as the rapists and murderers. In these times, even the most seemingly respectable people are suspected of white collar crimes. President Clinton and the first lady Hillary Clinton have been tangled up in the Whitewater and Travelgate business ventures. Although the two have not been formally charged with any wrongdoing, there is a committee currently investigating their dealings and charges are not out of the question for either of them. In Michael Isikoff's
There are many theories and sub-theories on why white-collar crime occurs, just as there are many theories and sub-theories on why street crime occurs. However, as with any theory dealing with sociology, there are faults as human nature is hard to define generally.
In this day and age, a corporation, family, or individual always has a potential risk of encountering fraud within their money supply. On average, fraud and abuse costs U.S. organizations more than $400 billion annually (Federal Bureau Investigation, 2010). Many may think that white collared crime is only money laundering or stealing, but that is only two out of the sum that countless culprits get away with. The term “white-collar crime,” originally coined in 1939 is synonymous with the full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals (Federal Bureau Investigation, 2010). These frauds include anything from bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, identity theft, corporate fraud to a wide number of threats all circling
White-Collar Crime consists of occupational crime and corporate crime. Occupational crime refers to offences committed against legitimate institutions businesses or government by those with "respectable" social status. It includes the embezzlement of corporate funds, tax evasion, computer crime and expense-account fraud. It is not every day that we hear about white-collar crimes but these non-violent crimes are on the rise to the top. Federal Bureau of Investigation states that USA, for example recorded white collar crimes amounting $300 billion every year (Cornell University, 2010). White-collar crime is relatively a new idea. It has many aspects that are practical for study and further interpretation to clear some of its dark areas. White-Collar Crime was once introduced by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 during his speech in American Sociological Society. The following crimes actually performed are Bribery, Extortion, Insurance, Fraud, Embezzlement, Cybercrime etc. People who participate in these criminal activities are highly powerful and respectful among the society. The following activities include description about White-collar Crime, Investigation of White Collar Crime and The Consequences of committing a White-collar Crime.
I really enjoyed your discussion Chadrick. In today’s society, crime exist in many areas. There are a lot of theories on how the behavior of these crimes should be handled. My philosophy is that the offenders should be punish to the degree of the predetermined executions of the law. I agree with you that all crimes should be handled differently and according to the nature of the crime. It saddens me on how white collar crimes are being treated when a trial goes to court. An example is the former chairman and chief executive of MCSi Michael E. Peppel was only given a seven-day prison sentence because the judge quoted that the defendant was “a remarkably good man” (The Challenge, 2013). Good men don’t plead guilty to conspiracy, money laundering,
When looking at whether or not white collar criminals usually operate as one man army or collude with other individuals to commit fraud. In recent statistics the number is two-thirds of all fraud is committed by a lone perpetrator. However, the one third of cases that involved a form of collusion of white collar criminals of at least two or more parties led to four times higher median loss for the victim organization. Collusion allows for management and executives to work together to better circumvent internal controls that allow for a bigger schemes to go unnoticed. A fraudster working alone will not be able to get around as many controls without being detected by another employee. Another general trait is the correlation of education and
problems. During the 1700's in England it was not a crime for people to steal