1/9/13Chapter 1 – Introduction and Overview of White Collar Crime (WCC)• Confusion on what constitutes WCC?o Not just corporate financial crimeo Ranges across every spectrumo Ex: Deaths associated with an earthquake would appear to be unrelated to WCC. But what if it is a consequence of greedy developers paying off corrupt governmental inspectors to evade proper building codes. Don’t assume what the news says is correct.• How to define WCC?o Payne (2013) describes three factors to distinguish WCC’s 1- white collar crimes are committed during the course of one’s job• Can be vague, such as, work from home or contractor.  2- the offenders occupational role plays a central feature in the perpetrations of the crime• Their position in their line of work. 3- the offenders occupations is viewed as legitimate by society• Sketchy, and difficult sometimes to tell the difference.  Simply put, it’s an economic crime committed by fraud, deception or collusion.• Why study WCC?o Payne offers six reasons to study WCC. 1- white collar crime is a serious problem in our society and costs far more in damage than property crimes• Costs exponentially more economicallyo Higher %s on all kinds of taxes• Emotional and psychological problems higher too 2 white collar crime affects everyone (large # of victims) 3- by studying WCC offending, we learn more about all types of crime• in the 2000s, hacking and computer crimes are rising 4- effective prevention and intervention systems and policies to be developed 5- to provide info about potential careers related to WCC 6- insight into current culture and subculture• The complex nature of WCCo WCC is: Complex and intertwined throughout long time spans Involves large organizations Numerous individuals in different positions Complicated transactions carried out over long periods of timeo Because this field of study is complex, one must understand: Economics Management Law Sociology Psychology• Ways to research WCCo Surveys  Common research strategy for WCC Groups who are surveyed: CJ officials, general public, victims of WCC, and WCC offenders• Judges might be reluctant to answer questions for fear of incriminating their reelection. Types of surveys:• On-site administration• Face-to-face interviews• Telephone interviewso Benefit =anonymity • Mail Surveyso Con= low response rateo *Know the strengths and weaknesses of all 4 types (Payne pg.6)o Field research Definition – strategies where researcher enters a particular setting and gathers data through their observations in those settings. Difficult to observe so this method is less useful.o Experiments Definition- studies where the researchers examine how the presence of one variable (the causal or independent variable) produces an outcome (the effect of dependent variable.)• Classicexperimental design = control and experimental group• Quasi-experimental design = used for most WCCo Mimic the experimental designs but lack certain elements of the experimental design, such as randomization. o Best we can do but far from idealo Case studies Definition- allows researchers to select a particular crime, criminal event, or phenomena and study the features surrounding the causes and consequences of those events. Ex: Cullen, Maakestand, and Cavender (1987) Ford Pinto Case• Pintos would blow up when hit from behind because of bad placement of gas tank. o Archival research1/11/13Archival research• Definition – refers to studies that use some form of record (or archive) as a database in the studyo Types of archives: Case records Pre-sentence reports Media reports Case descriptions of specific WCCThe Scientific Perspective and WCC• How to relate the principle of science to WCC?o Objectivity – researchers must be value free and unbiasedo Parsimonious – keep explanations as simple as possibleo Determinism - that the behavior is caused or influenced by preceding events or factorso Skepticism – social scientists must question and re-questiono Relativism – all things are relatedo WCC = how WCC is defined, the nature of WCC, and how the CJ system responds to WCC?The System Perspective and WCC• Technological system• Political system• Educational system• Religious system• Social system• Social services system• Occupational system• Corporate system• Civil Justice system• Criminal justice system • Regulatory system• Economic system• *Know the difference between these systems (Payne, pg. 17)Obtaining Statistics on Conventional Crime• Primary sources of data on conventional crime:o Official statistics – Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) Compiled by the FBI from individual police agency reports Provides raw counts of events, NO additional information Includes data on:• Offenses known to police• Detailed homicide data (SHR)• Crimes cleared by arrest• Persons arrested• Number/employment of law enforcement personnel The Dark figure of crime • The crimes that go underreported • Unfortunately, WCC is not reported accurately it is just mixed in. o National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) UCR “2.0” Collects additional data on each reported incident of crime Includes information about offense, parties involved, and property stolen (if any) Provides information of 57 offenses, as well as their circumstances, player and location Problem: because of the extensive detail it is hard to record all the details of every crime.  **NYC created there own type of NIBRS and doesn’t get reported to NIBRS• National crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)o Nationally representative sample of households, asked about the victimization experienceso Conducted annually since 1973 by the Census Bureau o Provides information on: Number of offenses The victim The offender The offense (time, place, weapons used, nature of injury, and economic consequences)o DOES NOT collect information regarding WCCsWhat does it all mean?• NO real WCC equivalent to UCR or NCVS data• Data must be obtained from various sources such as:o Governmental agency and annual financial reports o Newspaperso Journalso Independent surveysFINCEN• Financial Crimes Enforcement Networko Mission: to enhance the integrity of financial systems by facilitating the detection and deterrence of financial crimeo In charge of enforcement of anti-money