WHITE COLLAR CRIME Flashcards
Who originally defined the term ‘white collar crime’?
Sutherland in 1949.
What was Sutherland’s definition of WCC?
It is ‘crime committed by a person of high social status in the course of their occupation’.
How is world crime challenged by Croall?
He says not all activity is criminal.
What are the two types of white collar crime?
- Occupational Crime.
2. Corporate Crime.
Why is it difficult to investigate people in powerful positions?
As they are able to use their financial and political power to escape arrest and conviction.
What do Marxists argue about law?
It is a tool used by the ruling class and the powerful to create law to serve in their own interests and activity.
Box.
The way society defines crime is focusing on working class. White collar crime does more harm to society, but is ignored.
Tombs.
Analysed deaths at work and found that the scale of unlawful workplace deaths outweighed the number of recorded homicides.
Goldstraw-White.
Those who were convicted of WCCs often do not see themselves as criminals.
What did Goldstraw-White conduct?
41 semi-structured interviews with 41 offenders imprisoned for fraud or tax evasion, she found that many did not accept what they were doing as wrong.
Friedrichs.
Risk plays a large part in WCC, this activity involves a gamble. Big-businesses make their decision for cost-benefit.
Criticism - realists.
In reality, what ordinary people are frightened of and care about is street crime.
Marxists - criticism.
Can be accused of over-emphasising the importance of WCC.
What do psychologists argue?
That certain personality types can be linked to success in business, but they may also be linked to criminality.
What do personality based approaches come to the conclusion of?
That this lack of personal morality may explain why successful people may also sometimes ‘cross the line’ and commit WCC.
