...Volkswagen Case The exact definition of white collar crime has been heavily debated throughout the last decades starting with Sutherland in 1939 who theorized that it as a crime committed by a person of respectability and high status in the course of his occupation and has continued until recently where it has been theorized that offenders may be individuals and/or formal organizations, and they may act out of self-interest, in the pursuit of organizational goals, or both (Simpson 2013:313). White collar crimes have a greater salience on our lives than it is widely recognized – it can have severe negative effects on our environment, personal health, and even financial lives (Cohen 2015:5). Often times white collar crimes are swept under the...
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...White Collar Crime Theories, Laws, and Processes Christie Perez Professor Joyce Weddle LEG 200 August 19, 2011 WHITE COLLAR CRIME THEORIES RELATED TO CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIME Theories have been used by humanity as a way of making sense or understand the concepts for all of the activities in a world we seem to be aware of, but that we do not seem to comprehend. In the evaluating case of our behavior we can review our minds, body and emotions as the simplistic force behind our actions; however at the same time the hidden complexity involved in those actions does not allow us to pinpoint the reasoning behind some of our behaviors in certain situations. In the case for individuals involved in white collar crimes, their behavior has been difficult to identify and understand. The mentality or concept of society in regards to a person violating the law usually is categorized differently. A person involved in a conventional crime typically is stereo-typed with a certain minority race, low society status and certain lifestyle usually associated with the crime. Also conventional crimes create a different type of fear in society in comparison to white collar crimes. It is the severity and direct impact of conventional crimes in a community which allow these crimes to be easily recognized and quickly punishable under the law. On the other hand, white collar crimes deals with opposite factors and has been associated with many theories in an attempt to establish awareness...
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...According to the Oxford Dictionary crime is “an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law” (reference). There are different types of criminal offenses. Crimes are sub-categorized into violent crimes and non-violent crimes. Crimes of violent nature may involve assault, battery, rape, homicide, and kidnapping, to name a few. These types crimes bring either physical or mental harm to a person. Non-violent crimes may involve crimes such as embezzlement, money laundering, forgery, and burglary. Such crimes are offenses against property. White-collar crime is a non-violent crime. According to Geis’ (Geis, 2002, p.8) the term “white-collar crime” was coined by Edwin Sutherland. He introduced the concept during the American Sociological Society Meeting in 1939. During the meeting, Sutherland raised a concern about high-status white-collar offenders receiving less attention for their crimes than the attention that traditional criminals of low-status are receiving. Later, in his book “White Collar Crime”, Sutherland defined white-collar crime as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.". Through his definition, Sutherland intended to point out that traditional crimes such as homicide, kidnapping, and the likes were more likely to be committed by lower class citizens. While he also tried to point out that white-collar crimes are mostly committed by persons of high stature in society, according...
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...What are the major problems with regard to the collection of crime statistics? Discuss, within your answer, the weaknesses and strengths of the official crime statistics and British Crime Survey. Official crime statistics are secondary documentary sources which are most commonly based on figures from the police and the courts. These are then announced by the Home Office at a later date. Interactionists question the validity and reliability of official crime statistics as they state that official crime statistics greatly underestimate crime itself, and as a result they only represent ‘the tip of the ice berg’ suggesting that they are not representative of all crimes. Furthermore, Interactionists dispute that statistics are seen to be socially constructed. One example is through the underreporting of known crimes. The case for the British Crime Survey rested largely in the value to policy-makers of having at least a rough idea to the extent and shape of the problem which the criminal justice system was intended to tackle. Police statistics of recorded crime seemed adequate as a measure of police workload, but because of unreported and unrecorded crime – deficient as an index of crime. The British Crime Survey illustrates that the public do not necessarily report crimes that they have been victims of, for example in 2008 only 42% of crimes were reported by victims. Victims may not report crimes to the police as they may be too insignificant and believe that the police force either...
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...media. The ideologies of the ruling class thus render the working class (proletariat) into conformity by persuading them that the interests of the capitalists (bourgeoisie) are also in the interest of the working class. These ideologies defend and uphold the social position of the ruling classes. Jeffery Reimen stated that, the rich get richer and the poor get prison, thus, as the laws reflect the ideologies of the ruling class, there cannot be equality before the law, as the law protects those who define it. This essay will demonstrate the issue of the justice system within capitalist societies and the effects of the law and policy formations that reflect the wishes and ideologies of the ruling class, while exploiting the poor. The broad theory of critical criminology also known as radical criminology, explores various theoretical perspectives, specifically Marxist criminology and labeling theory. In light of these perspectives, this essay will provide insight on the disproportionate and bias treatment of the criminal justice system. White-collar crime (corporate crimes) and blue-collar crime (street crimes) will be used as illustrations of the disproportion of class systems within capitalist societies in terms of the criminal justice system, which further address how legislations and policies reflect the wishes ideologies and of the ruling class. Critical...
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...important role, but many believe that we should be more attentive to the role that class plays in targeting and the sentencing process in the criminal justice system. In order to understand the role that class plays in the sentencing process, we must, first, look at the role that it plays before the criminal reaches the day of sentencing. There are a plethora of publications that speak on profiling and actuarial methods which get people into the system. Though these are two large proponents of the discriminatory acts that exist within the confines of the criminal justice system, it does not begin with these institutionalized methods. The first instances of discrimination, which leads to all of the other forms within the system, are the laws and crime control policies that are implemented that, in some instances, are set up in favor of the rich and in opposition to the poor. In Marxist criminology, one of the fundamental principles is that the “ruling class” puts all of the other classes at a disadvantage. This is done...
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...role, but I believe that there needs to be more attention paid to the role that class plays in targeting and the sentencing process in the criminal justice system. In order to understand the role that class plays in the sentencing process, we must, first, look at the role that it plays before the criminal reaches the day of sentencing. There are a plethora of publications that speak on profiling and actuarial methods which get people into the system. Though these are two large proponents of the discriminatory acts that exist within the confines of the criminal justice system, it does not begin with these institutionalized methods. The first instance of discrimination, which leads to all of the other forms within the system, are the laws and crime control policies that are implemented that, in some instances, are set up...
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...Cyber-Crime Trends Melody Ann Lovelace CJA570 October 10, 2011 Ray Gagne Cyber-Crime Trends In the dawn of the 21st century, the evolution of new technology and science concepts have made changes to everyone’s daily life. Cyber-crimes are a creature that did not exist 15-plus years ago. Back in the day, before technology, were only the conventional crimes such as illegal behaviors people thought were criminal behaviors. However, in today’s time an individual must be extremely careful because not only are people combating traditional crimes but cyber-crimes as well. Cyber-crimes are the newest and most complicated crimes for the new century. A cyber crime is an individual conducting actions such as disrupting communications and devices, disrupting networks, Internet, and telephone; both landlines and mobile. Individuals of various ages are committing cyber crimes because these types’ crimes are easier to commit than the traditional kidnapping, murder, or human trafficking. According to Parthasarati (n. d.), cyber criminals fall into one of four categories or groups including children and adolescents between ages six to 18, organized hackers, professional hackers/crackers, and the discontent employee(s). The child or adolescent will partake in such behaviors to prove his or her self superior or outstanding over other individual in his or her age group. The organized hacker will want to fulfill objectives such as political bias and fundamentalism to name a couple. The professional...
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... Research Assistants: University of Pennsylvania Walter Campbell Department of Criminology Ryan Gale 483 McNeil Building Marissa Mandala 3718 Locust Walk Telephone: 215-746-3620 Office Hours: Professor Adler: Wednesday, 10am-1pm For all other times, please make an appointment Teaching Assistants will have weekly office hours TBA Overview: This course examines the multi-disciplinary social science of law-making, law-breaking, and law-enforcing. It reviews theories and data that predict when, where and against whom crimes happen. In addition, it addresses questions surrounding crime prevention and punishment of offenders. The role and importance of police, courts, and prisons are critically examined. The relationship between criminology and policy-making will be highlighted. Text: Adler, F., Mueller, G.O.W., Laufer, W.S, CRIMINOLOGY, 8th edition, New York: McGraw Hill, 2013 E-mail version: TBA Additional class materials will be posted on Blackboard periodically. Please check the course web site. Grading: Examinations: The final grade for this course is made up of grades from three non-cumulative examinations. These exams are taken in class. The first two are given during the semester (each one is worth 30% of the...
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...Assignment 2: Crime Theories Charles Faust Professor Jesse Witherspoon CIS 170-Information Technology in Criminal Justice 11/3/13 Abstract “In any society the benefits or affluence is not equally distributed and there are individual differences in personality profiles, and different groups are able to cope with strain and therefore psychological, social environmental factors, official crime control methods, values and beliefs, as well psychological factors, biological factors and social factors interact in different degrees on individuals and groups and therefore give birth to the commitment of crime (Fickle p.32).” This in essence is the theory of crime as it is related to today’s world and how I view digital crime. Psychological issues are at the leading forefront for the cause of digital crime. Psychological Theories “There are several psychological theories that have been applied to criminal activity (Taylor p. 39).” I will look at the impact of how moral development and personality disorders have certain effects on crime. Moral development theories allow you to look at the differences that exist between criminals and noncriminal, whereas personalities show that there are specific behaviors that show can lead to crime. Moral Development. Considering the relative influence of nature and nurture in the determination of criminal behavior is obviously crucial. There has been some research that considers the importance of genetic factors and some that considers...
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...Scandal: Sentencing of L. Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz Business Law 447-A Written By: Lindsey Proffitt White collar crime is not a victimless crime, and affects many people. These crimes can devastate a company, force investors to lose billions of dollars, and destroy people’s life savings. Through L. Dennis Kozlowski’s and Mark Swartz’s scandal reported in 2002, the Tyco Company lost over $28 billion dollars in debt. However, the biggest lash came to its shareholders who lost over $90 billion. The Tyco two were tried and found guilty in 2005, and are currently serving a 25- year- sentence. Crime never pays and it is only a matter of time before one is caught. The damage done affects all people involved including the innocent families of the victims and criminals. These two may not have ruined the company, but they ruined themselves. The question is was it worth it? Partners in Crime: The Tyco Threesome When people think of criminals; they tend to stereotype this to involve thugs and the lower class. However, this is not always the case. Participants of the privileged society are also capable of criminal behavior, but usually in a more complex manner. One of the more popular high society crimes involves business scandals and is termed “white-collar.” These crimes stem from greedy business and government professionals who become financially motivated to commit a nonviolent work related crime that usually includes hoarding large amounts of money. In 2002, the world...
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...RBOX Reflection Paper on The Sarbanes-Oxley Act I. Introduction The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Sarbox or SOX), also known as 'The Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act' in the US Senate, was enacted on July 30, 2002. This law was co-authored/sponsored by US Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-Maryland) and US Congressman Michael Oxley (R-Ohio). The act contains 11 sections with various requirements ranging from additional corporate board responsibilities to criminal penalties, and empowers the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to implement rulings that comply with the said act/law. The objective of this law was two-fold: 1) to restore the public confidence in public accounting, auditing and public securities trading 2) to assure ethical business practices by demanding executive awareness and accountability. But why and how did this law come to fruition? What events prompted these U.S. lawmakers to pass this bill in the first place? This bill was enacted as a reaction to a number of major corporate and accounting debacles (or accounting scandals). Some of those corporate accounting scandals involve companies such as Tyco International, Adelphia, Peregrine Systems and WorldCom. These scandals, which cost investors billions of dollars when the share prices of these affected companies collapsed and shook public confidence in the US securities markets. To better understand SOX, it is best to understand the first company that found itself in that accounting...
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...punishment for deviance. Controls behaviour. Inevitability of crime – functionalists see crime as inevitable and universal. Every society has crime. Two reasons why crime and deviance are in all societies: - No everyone is equally socialized into norms and values. Some are likely to be deviant. - Diversity of lifestyle and values. Different groups have their own subcultures with distinctive norms and values. Some may see deviant acts as normal. > Durkheim says in modern societies there is tendency towards anomie. The rules for behaviour become weaker and less clear-cut. This is because modern societies have a complex division of labour meaning individuals become more different from each other. Crime is more likely. Positive functions of crime – it also performs two positive functions Boundary maintenance - produces a reaction from society, uniting members in disapproval of criminals and reinforcing their commitment to shared norms and values. Adaptation and change – all change starts with an act of deviance. There must be scope to challenge existing norms and values and this will seem deviant in the short run. Criticisms - Durkheim says society requires deviance to function properly but states no way of knowing how much is the right amount. - Functionalists see crime in terms of its function. Crime may not exist to fulfill these functions. - Functionalists look at how functions of crime serve society as a whole and ignore how it might affect different groups...
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...* Chapter 10: Criminal Law and Cyber Crime * Section 1: Civil Law and Criminal Law * Crime- A wrong against society set forth in a statute and punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment—or in some cases, death * Key Differences Between Civil Law and Criminal Law * Burden of Proof * Civil Case * Plaintiff must prove his or her case by a preponderance of the evidence and must convince the court that based on the evidence presented by both parties; it is more likely than not that the plaintiff’s allegation is true. * Criminal Case * The state must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant has committed every essential element of the offense with which she or he is charged * Criminal Sanctions * Much harsher than civil * Involve fines, imprisonment, probation, and sometimes the death penalty * Civil Liability for Criminal Acts * Some torts, such as assault and battery, provide a basis for a criminal prosecution as well as a civil action in tort, * Classification of Crimes * Felonies * Serious crimes punishable by death or by imprisonment for more than one year * Misdemeanors * Less serious crimes punishable by a fine or by confinement for up to a year * Petty...
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...Function of Punishment: * According to Durkheim the function of punishment is not to remove crime but to ‘heal the wounds done to collective sentiment’. * Without Punishment – collective sentiments would lose their force and strength * Crime and punishment are both inevitable and functional. Function of Punishment: * According to Durkheim the function of punishment is not to remove crime but to ‘heal the wounds done to collective sentiment’. * Without Punishment – collective sentiments would lose their force and strength * Crime and punishment are both inevitable and functional. Crime is Inevitable: * Durkheim argued that crime in an inevitable and normal aspect of social life. * Crime is present in all types of society; indeed the crime rate is higher in more advanced, industrialized countries. * It is inevitable because not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments (shared values and beliefs). Crime is Inevitable: * Durkheim argued that crime in an inevitable and normal aspect of social life. * Crime is present in all types of society; indeed the crime rate is higher in more advanced, industrialized countries. * It is inevitable because not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments (shared values and beliefs). Crime is Functional: * Durkheim argues that it only becomes dysfunctional when it is rate is unusually low or high. ...
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