White Collar and Organized Crime Flashcards
Enterprise crime
Involves illicit entrepreneurship and commerce
People twist the legal rules of commercial enterprise for criminal purposes
Corrupts the free market system
Can be divided into two distinct categories:
White-collar crime
Organized crime
Both forms can involve violence
Corporate violence annually kills and injures more people than all street crimes combined
White Collar Crime
Any business-related act that uses deceit, deception, or dishonesty to carry out a criminal enterprise
Illegal activities of people and institutions whose purpose is illegal profit through legitimate business transactions
Occupational Crime
Committed by individuals in their occupation for personal gain
Corporate Crime
Crimes committed by corporations for financial gain
Forms of Occupational Crime
Employee theft
Embezzlement: Someone trusted with property fraudulently converts it, keeps it for their own use
Pilfering: stealing from an organization
Fraud in the professions
Health-care fraud improper billing and unnecessary surgery
Financial fraud
Insider trading
Police/political corruption
Bribes, kickbacks, extortion and blackmail
Organizational Crime
Crimes committed to profit the corporation, rather than the individual
Chiseling
Unnecessary car repairs, pharmacists altering prescriptions, securities fraud
Corporate Crime
When a powerful institution or its representatives violate the laws that restrain these institutions from doing social harm or require them to do social good
Examples: Corporate Financial Fraud: Big Banks and Mortgage Frauds Price-Fixing Illegal restraint of trade False advertising Corporate violence
Corporate Violence
Actions by corporations that cause injury, illness and death
Unsafe workers’ conditions
Consumer and unsafe products
Automobile, pharmaceutical and food industry
Environmental Pollution
Causes of White Collar Crime
Rational Choice
Greed: Greedy people choose to take shortcuts to acquire wealth; most believe they will not get caught
Rationalization/Neutralization
“Everyone else does it”, “It’s not my fault or responsibility”, “No one is hurt except wealthy insurance companies”
Corporate Culture
Some business organizations promote white-collar criminality
Place excessive demands on employees while maintaining a business climate tolerant of employee deviance
Lenient Treatment Weak regulations Proving corporate crime in court Weak punishment Lack of media attention
White Collar Law Enforcement Systems
The Federal government has the authority to regulate white-collar crime
State and local agencies are now combating white-collar crime too
Controlling White-Collar Crime
Compliance strategies
Administrative agencies (e.g., FDA, SEC)
Institutional rather than individual punishment
Force corporate boards to police themselves, economic incentives to obey the law
Deterrence
Detect criminal violations, determine responsibility, and penalize offenders to deter future violations
Organized Crime
Ongoing criminal enterprise groups whose ultimate purpose is personal economic gain through illegitimate business enterprise
General Characteristics of Organized Crime
Conspiratorial activity
Continuous commitment of primary members
Economic gain is the primary goal (power and status too)
Not all activities are illicit
Use predatory tactics (intimidation, violence, and corruption)
Groups are quick and effective in controlling and disciplining
Activities of Organized Crime
Narcotics distribution Loan sharking Prostitution Gambling Theft ring Pornography Stock market manipulation
Contemporary Organized Crime Groups
Organized crime groups are more considered a loose confederation of ethnic and regional crime groups Chicano Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Middle Eastern Chinese African criminal enterprises Balkan criminal organizations Eastern Europe
