Introduction and Overview of White Collar CrimeConfusion on what constitutes WCC?Example: Deaths associated with an earthquake would appear to be unrelated to WCCBut what if it is a consequence of greedy developers paying off corrupt governmental inspectors to evade proper building codesHow do we define WCC?White collar crimes are committed during the course of one’s jobThe offenders occupational role plays a central feature in the perpetration of the crimeThe offenders occupation is viewed as legitimate by societySimply put, it’s an economic crime committed by either fraud, deception or collusionWhy Study WCC?White collar crime is a serious problem in our society and costs far more in damage than property crimesWhite collar crime affects everyone (large # of victims)By studying WCC offending, we learn more about all types of crimeEffective prevention and intervention systems and policies to be developedTo provide info about potential careers related to WCCInsight into current culture and subcultureThe Complex Nature of WCCWCC is:ComplexInvolves large organizationsNumerous individuals in different positionsComplicated transactions carried out over long periods of timeBecause this field of study is complex, one must understand:EconomicsManagementLawSociologyPsychologyWays to Research White Collar CrimeSurveysField researchExperimentsCase studiesArchival researchSurveysCommon research strategy for WCCGroups who are surveyed: CJ officials, general public, victims of WCC, and WCC offendersTypes of surveysOne-site administrationFace-to-face interviewsTelephone interviewsMail surveysField ResearchStrategies where researchers enter a particular setting and gather data through their observations in those settingsExperimentsStudies where the research examine how the presence of one variable (the casual or independent variable) produces an outcome (the effect of the dependent variable)Classic experimental design=control and experimental groupQuasi-experimental design=used for most WCCMimic the experimental designs but lack certain elements of the experimental design, such as randomizationCase StudiesAllows researchers to select a particular crime, criminal, event, or phenomena and study the features surrounding the causes and consequences of those eventsArchival ResearchRefers to studies that use some form of record (or archive) as a database in the studyTypes of Archives:Case recordsPre-sentence reportsMedia reportsCase descriptions of specific WCCThe Scientific Perspective and WCCHow to relate to the principle of science to WCCObjectivity-researchers must be value free and unbiasedParsimonious- keep explanations as simple as possibleDeterminism-that the behavior is caused or influenced by preceding events r factorsSkepticism-social scientists must question and re-questionRelativism- all things are relatedObtaining Statistics on Conventional CrimeOfficial statistics-Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)Primary sources of data on conventional crime:Compiled by the FBI from individual police agency reportsProvides raw counts of events, NO additional infoIncludes data on:Offenses known to the policeDetailed homicide data (SHR)Crimes cleared by arrestPersons arrestedNumber/employment of law enforcement personnelNational Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)Known as the UCR “2.0”Collects additional data on each reported incident of crimeProvides information on 57 offenses, as well as their circumstances, players and locationRace, gender, what happened, what was involved in crimeVERY time consuming and detailed-many agencies don’t have resources to participate. One report can be up to 27 pagesNational Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)Nationally representative sample of households, asked about the victimization experiencesConducted annually since 1973 by the Census BureauProvides information on:Number of offensesVictimOffenderOffenseDOES NOT collect information regarding WCCsData must be obtained from various sources such as:Governmental agency and annual financial reportsNewspapersJournalsIndependent surveysFincenFinancial Crimes Enforcement NetworkMission: to enhance the integrity of financial systems by facilitating the detection and deterrence of financial crimeStolen credit cards or when there are flags on the amount of money you can spend on a credit cardProvides “suspicious activity” monthly reportsReports onMortgage/loan fraudMoney launderingCheck/CC fraudChapter 2-Understadning White Collar CrimeE.A. RossProminent sociologist-“the criminaloid”The business man who commits illegal acts out of a desire to maximize profit, while hiding behind a façade of respectability and pietyRoss regarded these criminaloids as guilty of moral insensibilityHe also help them directly responsible for unnecessary deaths of consumers and workersThey would hide behind the “great Gatsby” type of people so people would think that they cant be criminals but successful peopleThey were more guilty because these were the educated and knew exactly what they were doingStatus shield concept-their status was a shield to hide the crime that they didGodfather of White Collar Crime-SutherlandSutherland, 1940 in ASROne of the first systematic explorations of specific forms of WCCFocused on the 70 largest US manufacturing, mining and mercantile corporationsExamined:Restraint-of-trade violations-black listing people so they have to do business when certain peopleUnfair labor practices-child labor, slave labor, human traffickingFraudulent advertisingIllegal rebates (refunds)1. White collar criminality is real criminality2. The financial cost of WCC is higher than street crime3. WCC differs from other criminality because of differences in criminal law4. Theories that assume crime is due to poverty are invalid because they do not apply to white collar criminalsDifferential association and social disorganization are two theories of crime which fit this requirementDefining WCCA variety of terms have been used to describe WCC:Elite devianceBusiness crimePolitical crimeCorporate crimeOrganizational crimeOccupational crimeCybercrimeCriminologists who study WCC have generally agreed that it:1. Occurs in a legitimate occupational context2. Is motivated by the objective of economic gain or occupational success3. Is not characterized by direct, intentional violenceMoral or ethical violations of Natural LawFocuses on behaviors and activities that are defined as wrong because they violate principles of a particular