White Collar Crime and Occupational Crime
White Collar Crime
Newburn (2007):
The study of crime
focuses on crimes of
the powerless rather
than the powerful
Timner & Eitzen
(1989):
Focus is always on
crimes on the ‘streets’,
not crimes on the
‘suites’.
Fraud
Fiddling Expenses
Embezzlemen
t
Forgery
Collusion
(Price fixing)
Insurance Scams
Tax Evasion
What might be classed as
‘White-Collar Crime?’
In 2002, Worldcom
(Telephone company in the
USA) was forced to explain
why $4 Billion was missing
from it’s accounts. Shares
dropped from $64 to 20
cents & investors lost
millions.
As the definition of White Collar Crime is so vague it can be split into two main types:
Croall (2001): Often doctors
will falsify prescriptions and
patient records to claim
more funding from the NHS.
One GP made over
£700,000 over 5 years
doing this.
In 2007, the millionaire
Conrad Black (former
owner of the
Daily
Telegraph
was jailed for 6
years after defrauding
shareholders out of millions
of dollars.
Ditton (1977) & Mars (1982) found that many employees (in a wide range
of occupations), thought that it was a ‘perk’ of the job & legitimate to
steal from their workplaces.
> Why might stealing from the office be seen as ok but stealing from
someone’s home not be?
> How might this be linked to labelling theory?
> How might Marxists view this type of crime?
> What methodological issues might you encounter if you were to
research the extent of occupational crime.
Official Statistics & White-Collar Crime
Official statistics tell us that
most crime is working-class
crime. White-collar crime is
under-represented within
these statistics and are thus
misleading
1) Difficult to Detect - ‘Invisible
Crime’.
2) ‘Victimless’ Crime.
3) Crime may benefit all
involved e.g. Bribery.
4) Difficult to Investigate.
5) Lack of awareness.
6) Institutional Protection.
7) Lack of Convictions –
Middle-Class offenders.
Explaining Occupational Crime
Based on what you have
learnt already, can you
think of any explanations as
to why occupational crime
occurs?
Edgework
(Katz & Lyng)
The Sociology of Risk
Taking
Based on what you now
know about White-Collar
Crime, how does it relate to
the Marxist Theory of Crime?
White collar crime encompasses various offenses such as fraud, embezzlement, forgery, collusion, and tax evasion. This type of crime can often go undetected due to its complex nature and the difficulty in investigating it. Occupational crime, on the other hand, involves employees stealing from their workplaces, viewing it as a perk of the job. Official statistics may not accurately reflect the prevalence of white-collar crimes, leading to under-representation in crime data. Various factors such as lack of awareness, institutional protection, and the invisible nature of the crime contribute to the challenges in addressing white-collar offenses.
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Presentation Transcript
Fraud Fraud My Name Is Fiddling Expenses Fiddling Expenses Embezzlement t Embezzlemen Forgery Forgery Collusion Collusion (Price fixing) (Price fixing) Insurance Scams Insurance Scams Tax Evasion Tax Evasion
As the definition of White Collar Crime is so vague it can be split into two main types:
Occupational Crime: Ditton (1977) & Mars (1982) found that many employees (in a wide range of occupations), thought that it was a perk of the job & legitimate to steal from their workplaces. > Why might stealing from the office be seen as ok but stealing from someone s home not be? > How might this be linked to labelling theory? > How might Marxists view this type of crime? > What methodological issues might you encounter if you were to research the extent of occupational crime.
Official Statistics & White-Collar Crime 1) Difficult to Detect - Invisible Crime . 2) Victimless Crime. What are the implications of the 3) Crime may benefit all involved e.g. Bribery. under-representation of white-collar crimes in official statistics for the view that most criminals are working class? 4) Difficult to Investigate. 5) Lack of awareness. 6) Institutional Protection. 7) Lack of Convictions Middle-Class offenders.
Explaining Occupational Crime http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:IkKLzJECcyhKpM:http://www.soc.ucla.edu/Pictures/Katz.jpg
