What is white-collar crime?
Offenses committed by workers in the course of their commercial activities. Companies and corporations
Corporate crime
Offenses being committed by entire firms and industries and not specific individuals
White-collar crime includes
Embezzlement, fraud, bribery, tax violations, illegal campaign contribution, and expense account misuse
Why is enforcing computer crime difficult for police?
Traditional police methods do not effectively detect and investigate such crimes
Early Romans practiced this doctrine
Caveat emptor or "let the buyer beware
1895 Government Act
Sherman Trust Act to prohibit economic monopolization
What is the Sherman Act?
It is a regulatory law enforced by the Federal Trade Commision
Sutherland found that white-collar criminals
are not needy criminals committing crime out of necessity and they are separate from street criminals
Occupational dimension of white-collar crime
Power, trust, and individual identity
How to qualify for occupation white-collar crime?
It has to occur within the individual's legitimate occupation
What is fraud
Deception in order to acquire unlawful gains
Fraudulent behavior associated with white-collar crime
Trust to the person while in legitimate occupation
Example of corporate crime
Insider trading
Enron
Made shareholders believe it was worth more
How much did WorldCom improperly account for in costs?
$3.9 billion
The largest theft in U.S. involved
Collective embezzlement in the savings and loan industry that will cost U.S. $300-$500 billion
Technocrime
fax machines, computers, cell phones, electronic surveillance, and accounting technologies
Example of crime against owner
Falsifying annual reports that misrepresent the company's financial success or failure
What is the most common way to stop crimes against owner?
Whistle-blowing
Crimes against employees include
Violations in safety laws
What is OSHA?
The Office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is a federal agency that is responsible for maintaining safe working conditions
Example of crimes against community at large
Polluted drinking water, lying under oath.
Enronization
The ability of white-collar and corporate crimes to victimize so many
Cressy identified embezzlers as trusted people who stole organizational funds as a result of three conditions
1. They faced unshareable financial problem
2. Recognized the chance to use position
3. Developed rationalizations
Coleman's three factors of white-collar crime
1. Motivation
2. Culturally learned neutralizations
3. Opportunity
Cost of white-collar crime
$425 billion to $1.7 trillion a year
What prohibits white-collar crime
Criminal law & administrative sanctions
What is the object in administrative law?
Compliance
Measures to help reduce white-collar crime
Public education, developing stronger business ethic, legislation, and publicity