*White Collar Crime Flashcards
What do Marxists argue regarding crimes committed by the middle classes and wealthy individuals?
They argue that more attention needs to be paid to these crimes, particularly by the ruling capitalist class.
What is the financial impact of crimes committed by the wealthy compared to crimes by poorer individuals?
The financial costs to society of crimes committed by the wealthy far outstrip the costs of crimes such as burglary, theft, and street robbery.
What are the two main types of crimes committed by the powerful and wealthy?
- White collar crimes
- Corporate crimes
How does Sutherland define white collar crime?
Crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of their job.
Who typically commits white collar crimes?
- Managers
- Professionals such as solicitors, accountants, and doctors
- Directors of companies
What types of offenses are typically classified as white collar crimes according to Croall?
- Fraud
- Accounting offences
- Tax evasion
- Insider dealing
- Computer crime
What is corporate crime?
Crimes committed by companies, often involving the board of directors or management choosing to break the law for financial gain.
List the types of corporate crime.
- Crime against consumers
- Crime against employees
- Environmental or green offences
- Financial fraud
What are crimes against consumers?
Include manufacturing or selling unfit food, dangerous goods, and falsely describing the contents of goods.
Provide an example of a crime against consumers.
In 2013, horse meat was passed off as beef by companies selling meat to supermarkets and schools.
What happened with the Ford Pinto in the 1970s?
Ford marketed the Pinto knowing it had mechanical defects, leading to approximately 900 deaths in the USA.
Why are corporate actions that harm consumers often not classified as criminal offenses?
They are usually defined as lesser civil offences.
What was the outcome of the ‘Herald of Free Enterprise’ ferry disaster in 1987?
The ferry company P&O was blamed for operating unsafely, but attempts to sue for corporate manslaughter failed.
What do crimes against employees typically involve?
Failing to meet health and safety regulations, leading to injury and death.
Approximately how many employees die at work each year?
About 500 employees.
What was the Piper Alpha Oil platform disaster?
In 1988, 167 workers were killed due to management neglect of safety standards.
What constitutes environmental or green offences?
Polluting the environment with toxic waste and radiation.
Provide an example of an environmental offence.
ICI was fined £300,000 in 1999 for polluting groundwater in Cheshire.
What is financial fraud?
Includes false accounting, insurance frauds, and making false claims about pension schemes.
What happened with WorldCom in 2002?
Executives admitted to fraudulently claiming $4 billion more in the bank than actually existed.
Why is white collar and corporate crime often not reported or recorded?
Because these crimes are often invisible, indirect, complex, and difficult to prove.
What does Croall mean by ‘invisible’ crimes?
These offences are often hidden from public view and do not leave visible signs like street crime.
What is meant by ‘diffused responsibility’ in corporate crime?
Responsibility is often delegated in companies, making it difficult to assign blame.
Why are laws against white collar crime considered ambiguous?
There’s often a fine line between acceptable and unacceptable business practices.
