DISCUSS THE DEFINITIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME.

White Collar Crimes

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Glossary .p 1-6

Introduction .p 6-7

Review of Related Literature .p 7-9

Characteristics of White Collar Crimes .p 9-11

Criminology Theories .p 11-15

Penalizing White Collar Criminals .p 15-16

Conclusion .p16

References .p18

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GLOSSARY

Bank Fraud - cheating and deceiving a bank in return for its funds

Blackmail - require the victim to give money or other things with value while threatening him of injuries , crimes or disclosure of

secrets

Bribery - giving of valuable things in to manipulate the decision or opinions of the receiver . Both the giver and the receiver will be charged of bribery

Cellular phone fraud - illegal utilization of cellular phone or its services using stolen unit

Computer fraud - stealing or hacking of private information like information about the bank , proprietors or credit cards

Counterfeiting - duplicating or imitating original copies without the authority of the authentic makers of that item . It is piracy which pirates anything like clothing , bags , watches , movies , etc

Credit Card Fund - use of a credit card without the knowledge and authority of the holder in to get valuables

Currency schemes - predicting the value of money in the future

Embezzlement - using the entrusted money for personal interests and benefits

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Environmental schemes - overpricing or deceptive activities of companies which is then claimed to be for the preservation and conservation of the environment

Extortion - obtaining money or property from someone using force and violence

Forgery - using insignificant and fake items wit the motive of deceiving or injuring the victim

Health Care Fraud - disguising as a professional and authorized health care provider when in fact not , and getting money from it

Insider Training - utilization of confidential and secret information to exchange shares of public companies

Insurance Frauds - deceiving insurance companies and obtaining money from it

Investment schemes - deceiving someone of having large incomes on small funds

Kickback - it means having a part on the sold item

Theft - stealing other people 's property

Money Laundering - converting illegal money so that it will not be detected as illegal

Racketeering - illegitimate business used for personal gains

Securities Fraud - falsely inflating the values of stocks in to make buyers buy increasing stocks

Tax evasion - deception in paying dues

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Telemarketing fraud - Using phone calls to request for donations for charity but the truth is that the money is used for another purpose

Welfare Fraud - deception to get assistance and benefits from the government

Weights and Measures - indicating a false price on an item which is usually lower and actually selling it at higher price when someone buys it or selling products that are insufficient in weight and does not reflect it on the tag

Advanced fee schemes - the offender promises the victim of a benefit in exchange for an advanced fee but the victim , after paying the fee would not receive anything in return

Airport Scam - This happens in airports . The offender would ask the victim to change a bill but when it gets the change he would say that he would go back to the establishment where he transacted but he will never comes back and return the money to the victim

Auto Repairs - the offender will offer auto repairs at a low cost but after substandard repair is done , the victim is then asked of higher price when it returns to claim the his automobile

Check Kiting - the offender will open bank accounts . After earning the trust of bank the offender will then deposit bad checks but then the bank will realize it too late because the offender already withdrew money from the bank

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Coupon Redemption - grocery stores gather many coupons and then exchange them but the truth is that the products are not sold

Directory Advertising - the offender disguises as an advertiser and deceives customers in selling products and items which the victims fail to receive

Fortune Telling - the offender will tell the victim that he is cursed and in return the victim large amount of money in to break the curse

Gypsies - the offender will tell the victim that his cash are under curse , and he would advise the victim to place the money in a bag which comes from him . After sometime , the container will be opened and the victim will realize that his cash is already gone

Home Improvement - the offender offers low cost house repairs but after substandard repair the offender would then ask the victim a higher price

Inferior Equipment - selling of substandard products at high costs

Jamaican switch - tricky switching of victims money to the offenders while the victim knew nothing about it . The victim will then realize that his money is stolen

Land fraud - the offender sells lands which do not exist

Odometer fraud - a fake car salesman will sell cars at high price when its odometer is reversed

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Pigeon Drop - the offender together with the victim will allegedly found a large amount of money . The offender will then ask the victim to have his part on the money found and to make sure that no one will fool around they will agree to turn in their money . The money will then be put in a container and then it will be switched . Later on the victim will find out that the offender get away with his money

Police impersonation - the offender disguises as a policeman and conduct trickery to his victims in to obtain money

Pyramid - the offender will offer the victim a franchise of an item and will advised that greater money will be obtained in selling franchises than items . When investors are gone the pyramid will fall down and the victims are left hanging

Quick Change - offender will give insufficient change in speedy process of money exchanges

Shell game - the offenders trick the victim in a game wherein bets are placed under caps or walnut shells . In the end the victim will lose and the offenders will go home with big amount of money

Utilities impersonators - the offender will disguise as a utility worker and will enter houses wherein he could steal items with values

VCR Scam - the offender will sell VCRs at low costs . After payment and delivery the victims will then realize that the package contains no VCR . White Collar Crimes 'page 6

White collar jobs - professional , executive or managerial occupations

Corporate crimes - Crimes performed by the corporation or company itself which advance their interest

Symbolic Interaction - A sociological model which best explains the Differential Theory which explains deviant behaviors like crimes and delinquencies

INTRODUCTION (Definition of white collar crimes

White collar crime is the term used to refer to crimes performed by people belonging to higher social status . According to Edwin Sutherland criminal attitudes are results of interaction with other individuals Edwin Sutherland is a seasoned criminologist and sociologist who is also the person behind the Symbolic Interaction Theory . He is the first to coin the term white collar crime . He defined white collar crimes as (1949 "crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation " Generally , white collar crimes are non-violent crimes which are committed in corporate circumstances in to achieve financial gains

Thus , the white collar crime coincides with another type of crime which is the corporate crime , for the reason that white collar workers have greater probability of committing deception , scam or falsification etc

In modern criminology , white collar crimes are separated into different divisions . It is separated according to the type of offence , type of offender , and organizational culture . The type of offence is based on the nature of crime committed like property crimes and corporate crimes Different types of crimes require a specific

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identity of the offender , in example money laundering is only possible through the involvement of senior employees of banks . But in 1989 , the Federal Bureau of Investigation defined white collar crimes as unlawful actions which is free from coercion or physical violence . White collar crimes also involve deception or infringement of trust

This approach however , makes research and policy assessment difficult because of records inadequately gathers data on the social and economic status of the violators

Another division is the type of offender . Offenders can be classified according to their social and economic status , position , academic backgrounds and criminal motives . Yet the background of the criminal offenders has become not that important because crimes have become part of socialization process . Criminals are doing unlawful acts with lesser guilt because morality has become weaker (Lea , 2001

The last division is the organizational culture . This division move away from the offence committed and the offender . It focused more on occupational crimes and organizational crimes . Occupational crimes are performed to advance personal interests while organizational crimes which are also called corporate crimes are committed for the advantage of the entire company which is done mostly by its executives

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In his article The battle against White Collar Crime ' Richard Johnston (2002 ) said that thirty-three percent or one out of three family in the United States are victimized by white collar crimes annually , but only a small percentage , only 41

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report about it and among these only 21 are prosecuted . On the average less than eight percent of offenders of these crimes were brought to legal actions these statistics were according to the recent National Public Survey on White Collar Crime which was done by the National White Collar Crime Center . The result of the survey can be really disturbing for both consumers and business establishments because the risks of white collar crimes are rapidly increasing in our high technology society . But why is it that Americans opt not to report incidence of these crimes when it is already costing the entire country billions of dollars annually ? This only shows that people fails to determine how to react given this kind of situations maybe because they perceive these white collar crimes as not really actual crimes like street crimes or they just don 't care at all for they know that offenders of these kinds of crimes are rarely prosecuted

According to Michael Levi (1993 ) in his article White-Collar Crime : The British Scene , checks and credit cards are used in deception , cheating and falsification in Great Britain . He said that rarely , most of these crimes occur during bankruptcy . Authorities seem to shift their attentions when debatable violations surface maybe because not to disappoint their politics which is trying to manifest that the economy is under control and properly maintained . Recent court hearings of white collar crimes did not only take long time and money , it also puts into question the worth of these trials

CHARACTERISTICS

White collar crimes are committed by wealthy persons in the course of business . It is characterized by a conspiracy which means using the position in to advance certain interests . It is utilizing the power and the resources of the position in the

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company or organization in to achieve and advance interests and have gains . This type of crime most of the time involves middle class men and high tech unlawful activities . White collar crimes happen in legitimate businesses in which the offender performs deviant activities But most of us think that crimes are only done by street and impoverished people therefore crimes are oftentimes not associated to affluent and prominent people in the community . Thus , white collar crimes are partly deviant and partly conventional . White collar crimes are characterized by carefully considered actions which are fuelled by profits . White collar crimes are often concealed in everyday business routines and transactions . They are fused with legal or lawful behaviours . This also involves high technology crimes which make it harder to detect and investigate . This is the reason why many engage in white collar crimes , they can yield great gains with less risks of being caught . Many business people opt to disobey the law because following the law is economically illogical . So why follow if you can easily get away with ? Most people would resort to deviant or illegitimate actions when legal means of reaching their goals becomes complicated and difficult . Another characteristic of white collar crimes is that its victims are diffused . This means that the victims are often unidentified because it covers and spread to large number of victims

As discussed in the punishment section of this essay , the punishments for white collar crimes are light and offenders of this type of crimes are rarely punished and convicted . These crimes are hard to pursue because evidences are vague or unclear as compared to street crimes Because offenders of white collar crimes belong to affluent circles they have connections and they can make their transactions unknown to the

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public , they have only very limited media exposure . White collar crimes offenders also do not acquire criminal identities . They are very rarely imprisoned

But not all white collar crimes belong to the affluent and powerful people . Some are only ordinary people who has fiscal crisis and believes that the only way to resolve that problem is to commit illegitimate actions like frauds which involves a careful deception for unlawful gains . They are committing white collar crimes because of greed and financial difficulties . Most of the time it is the small time offenders who are usually get caught . The mastermind often gets away with it because of his capability of using his resources and connections to conceal and protect him from the authorities . In some cases executives of corporations are not engage directly in white collar crimes because they simply direct their assistants to perform it instead of them so they would not be the one directly committing it . And it should be noted that big fish ' are fewer than ordinary people in white collar jobs that is why they are seldom prosecuted . That is why an offender who belongs to higher social class , the big fish , was caught he will most probably received strict sentence from the jury when he is about to be convicted . There are numerous types and schemes of white collar crimes . Types of white collar crimes includes Bank fraud , black mail bribery , cellular phone fraud , computer fraud , counterfeiting , credit card fraud , currency schemes , embezzlement , environmental schemes extortion , forgery , health care fraud , insider trading , insurance fraud investment schemes , kickback , theft , money laundering , racketeering securities fraud , tax evasion , telemarketing fraud , welfare fraud and weights and measures . On the other hand the white collar crimes involves advanced fee schemes , airport scams , auto repair , check kiting , coupon redemption , directory advertising , fortune telling , gypsies , home

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improvement , inferior equipment , Jamaican switch , land fraud , odometer fraud , pigeon drop , police impersonation , pyramid , quick change , shell game , utilities impersonators , and VCR scams

CRIMINOLOGY THEORIES

There are numerous theories set forth in to fully explain the causes of crimes . It is logical to say that juvenile crimes are caused by complexities of different factors like psychological and social issues (Cromwell , 1978 . Some studies even discovered that this issue is founded on disorganized family backgrounds , in most cases of crimes There are different perspectives in which the issue of crimes can be explained . Theories have been developed by social scientists in to analyze the issue further

The Differential Association theory which is also called the Social learning theory suggests that crimes are behaviors which are learned According to Calhoun (1989 , socialization both teaches people to conform and deviates from the rules of the society . This theory simply shows that from socializing with the people around us would result to deviance or delinquency . We can learn deviance from the people to whom we socialize whether with our family , with our schoolmates , with our neighbors and most especially with our peers who we are always with . In general , it is our parents and friends that influence as the most making them the most dominant force of socialization . To illustrate , if a child grew up in an environment which is dominated by criminal behaviors he would think that these behaviors are normal , that it is natural to perform this acts the way the people surrounding him do . He would then end up doing

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criminal acts . The same is true with a person who is with delinquent friends . He may adapt to the wrongdoings of his peers in to belong to their circle . Then he would be prone in doing crimes

The next theory is the Rational Choice Theory . Conservatives regarded this theory as the most acceptable theory . This theory suggests that being delinquent is a personal choice . Delinquency is solely based on the individual 's own point of view . But this theory is argued by some for they believe that delinquents do not know what they are doing (Calhoun 1989 . But proponents of these theories would argue that in most circumstances the individual chooses to perform delinquent actions because of its gains and take the risks of being caught . This means that delinquents prefer to take the risks in return for much favorable gains in doing the act . But it is not always the case . Young people 's values are not the same with grown-ups . Their motives are also different from the elders . Youth are not even thinking the consequences of their actions . Delinquency , in the context of this theory , is the product of opposition to the authority or deviance to cultural norms . To illustrate , an adolescent may plant a bomb inside the vicinity of his school to show that he is against the authorities of that school . In this case , the act of deviance is like in the form of protest

The next theory is the Labeling Theory . This theory suggests that groups in the society have rules in which it applies to people outside their circles . These people are then labeled as outsiders . This perspective suggests that deviance is not the behavior or act that is performed instead it is the result of the rules imposed by social groups to the offender (Leighninger , 1996 . If a person did a crime and he got caught , that is the only time that the person would realize the consequences and the negative side of his

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actions . Thus , when someone has been called or labeled as a criminal that person would realize that it was wrong . Self- identity is developed in the period of adolescence . Thus , the juvenile would develop his identity and would choose an identity that is far more committed to negative behavior like engaging into crimes . On the other hand if a juvenile developed a negative self-identity , he will opt to engage in crimes and link it with other criminals or delinquents

The Structural-Functionalists Theory believes that crimes have its own purpose and function in the society . They believe that the existing structure of the society will really result in crimes . Negative behaviors like crimes and delinquencies are action which deviates from the legal and cultural standards . These behaviors can change society . In the French Revolution the citizens defied the rules of the society . They committed crimes . Here , deviant behaviors are not always negative . They were able to test the status quo and this result to change , a positive change in this case . Crimes basically can introduce change , both negative and positive

Deviance provides different perspectives . It is important to note the purpose of different actions within the society in to understand it at large . But how can the structure of the society results to crime Some communities are structured in a way that it is dominated by deviant behavior while some are so ideological and focused on success . These structures can pressure individuals . In a society wherein there is greater emphasis on success , the people who can 't attain success will be in misery . This misery and strains would then lead to criminal acts These individuals who commit delinquent behavior rebel against the goals of the society and by being deviant they were able to define their own goals

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According to the Conflict Theory , crime is the consequence of conflict between different groups in the society . Conflicts can be based on classes , power , ethnicity , races or ideologies . This theory sees crimes as a form of protest against these conflicts . Crimes can be morally right or not . Some acts can be accepted and some are not

Moving on , the Social Control Theory believes that humans are naturally delinquent . It suggests that it is a human nature to commit crimes . The question here is that why others do not engage in crimes . This view thinks that institutions in the society create ties or linkages . Example of this bond is the committing to success and behavior which is vibrant in social standards , and to attain success one must get both good education and job . These are the individuals who learned to have faith and value the rules and laws of the society . They become good citizens by being law abiding individuals . Thus , those persons who were not able to create a bond like this are those who become delinquents . These delinquents failed to form the bond created by the law abiding people

The Strain Theory has similarities with the Structural Functionalist Theory . The proponent of this theory is Robert Merton . According to this theory , success which is greatly valued in the society is restricted to the lower class or to the poor people . They are only left with two choices the first is to be defeated in their goals to become successful or to perform deviant behavior in which it is the only way they can achieve their goals in to succeed . This theory is applies mostly in lower classes . The point is that these criminals do not have the resources (for education ) in to compete and become successful This strain is a problem in which they must act in to achieve

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their goals . Because this theory is equated with poverty , it is only limited to the lower class individuals and does not apply to delinquencies in the suburban places

Another theory is the Cultural Deviance Theory . This theory suggests that it is the environment that creates delinquents . According to this theory , the environment which is appropriate in producing juvenile delinquents are characterized by worse physical environment , fiscal problems , racial discrimination , domination of social ailments like psychological illness , unemployment , etc . This would mean that individuals living in this kind of environment will probable become delinquents

Penalizing white collar criminals

White collar offenders are punished differently from the regular street criminals . Often times this offenders are not strictly handles . Since white collar delinquents belong to higher social classes and they are richer than other ordinary offenders , they can get themselves the best lawyers they can afford . They might also have established connections to political leaders and elites and to other agencies in which they can ask help to decrease the punishment . They can conceal their violations through complex and secret transactions with their connections . Another reason why white collar offenders are treated differently because criminal laws are more focused on force and violence rather than issues on business like fiscal crisis or loss . Criminal crimes can be committed without force and violence that is why they have less criminal violations . For example , a group of armed persons rob a bank as of and held a teller as a hostage , these offenders are more likely to face strict consequences of their actions than an executive officer of a company who cheated the shareholders of the corporations

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Oftentimes white collar crimes are charged against individuals but companies can also be sanctioned due to these offences . The company may face fines , detention or confinement within the community or even imprisonment . But this punishment can be decreased when the individual offender takes the crime as his own responsibility and he will help the authorities in investigating the crime

CONCLUSION

White collar crimes offenders , as discussed earlier in this essay are rarely prosecuted . Many are not prosecuted because they have financial stability and strong connections to the powerful institution to the society . But whatever the reasons are , why they can get away with this crimes they are also criminals who violated written laws of the state and cause damages to their victims . White collar criminals are just like street criminals , they both choose to commit deviance because of greed and personal interests . They may not harm their victims physically like street criminals , but they wrongdoing could not do any good for the people and the state . Thus , white collar criminals must not be tolerated and must be prosecuted

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