RCRJ 203 Criminology Cynthia Najdowski 4 22 14 White Collar Crime The cost of white collar crime Financial Physical Costs the U S hundreds of billions of dollars each year Workers deaths disease and injuries Consumers deaths and injuries Environmental damages Moral and Social Delegitimate business and government Barriers to Studying White Collar Crime UCR NCVS and self reports don t assess it Its self regulating codes of silence protectionism employers ask for resignations to avoid scandal Limited access Requires extensive knowledge of law corporate structures finances economies etc What is white Collar Crime A crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in Offender based definition the course of his occupation Offense based definition A crime committed by nonphysical means and by concealment or guile to obtain property to avoid loss of property or to obtain business or personal advantage Characteristics Offender has legitimate access to the target Offender is spatially separated from victim Offenders actions have the appearance of legality Two main types Occupational crime Corporate Crimes Personal violations that take place for self benefit during course of a legitimate occupation Crimes by business or officials committed on behalf of the employing organization Occupational crimes against the public Individual is corrupt and personally benefits at the publics expense Committed by employee public servant or office holder Takes he forms of extortion or bribery Occupational crime Against other employees Hostile work environments Ones conduct creates a work environment that would be intimidating hostile or offensive to reasonable people Sexual harassment Workplace violence Disgruntled employees goes postal Occupational Crime against Organizations Employee retail theft Embezzlement Theft from employer by employee who is in a position of financial trust Occupational Crime Within Professions Cooking the Books Insider trading In finance In medicine Unnecessary procedures In Law Ambulance Chasing Frivolous lawsuits Fraudulent billing Insurance fraud Corporate fraud Price fixing Sale of unsafe products Health and safety violations Environmental crime Industrial espionage Corporate Crime Corporate crime Against the public Johnson and Johnson marketing of drugs that were not FDA approved Consumer fraud Environmental crime Dolphin slaughter in Peru Corporate Crime Against employee Health and safety violations West Fertilizer Co Industrial Espionage NSA spying Corporate crimes Against other organizations Causal factors Motivated by greed and opportunity High recidivism rate Facilitating factors Trust relationships Work environment Rationalization White collar crime is perceived as victimless Corporate concentration Constant demand regardless of pricing Difficult to regulate