White collar crime has been occurring for many years and has been reported in the business section of the newspaper more recently. However, the extent to which white collar criminal activities materialize are unknown. As a result, "data on white collar crime is not routinely collected" (Tonry, 2000, p.139) which makes it difficult to publish statistics. Nevertheless, white collar crime is still on the rise and the public is becoming more concerned about preventative measures. Thus, authorities that investigate white collar crime are broadening their understanding to minimalize future occurrences. In this paper, the range and impact of white collar crime will be argued.
Early theories of white collar crime stem from sociologist Edwin Sutherland. Sutherland defines white collar crime as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" (Linden, 2016, p.471). Sutherland also suggests that "white collar criminals cause great harm and it is imperative criminologists study them" (Linden, 2016, p.15). However, white collar crimes are often treated as civil cases rather than criminal matters. According to Linden (2016), "public opinion polls have found concerns about white collar crime are increasing" (p.486). The poll results may have to do with the fact that white collar criminals have not received the punishments they deserve in the past, suggesting that courts are too lenient with offenders (Linden, 2016).
According to Linden (2016), "white collar crime is defined as crime that is committed by middle and upper-class people in the course of their legitimate business activities" (p.14). In corporations, white collar crime is commonly orchestrated by high status employees and the "crimes are committed through and on behalf of corporations" (Linden, 2016, p.471). In fact, Daly suggests "not all white collar crimes are committed by high status persons. Much embezzlement is committed by relatively low status employees" (Linden, 2016, p.476). A study conducted in 2006 by Shover and Hochstetler suggests "multiple reasons why higher status people become involved in criminal behaviour: competitive spirit, arrogance and a sense of entitlement" (Linden, 2016, p.474). White collar crime becomes dangerous for the lower-class employees "when [their] employers knowingly subject their workers to an unsafe working environment" (Tonry, 2000 p.134). However, there is "reported evidence that a small number of offenders account for a large proportion of serious street crimes and the same may be true of white collar crime" (Linden, 2016, p.473).
There is a common misconception that motives for white collar crime are homogeneous. In a study conducted in 1981 with 100 female participants, "these women were motivated to embezzle for altruistic reasons; they claimed to be willing to sacrifice themselves if it meant providing for their families" (Klenowski, 2011, p.48). For males, their rationale for committing white collar crime differs from females. Klenowski (2011) notes, "the most common justifications for [male] acts were that they were just borrowing the money, that the money 'belonged' to them" (p.48). Therefore, it is evident that gender does play a role in the types of white collar crime they commit because they participate in dissimilar forms of fraud and have different motives.
There are many types of white collar crime. Bribery is one of the more common types and it is often upper-income professionals that execute the crime. The bribes are often a gamble that involves putting money into it and getting something of larger value such as drugs or more money in return. However, when these types of deals go wrong it can be classified as fraud. According to Tonry (2000), fraud is "defined generally as a use of deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, and is the core component of many white collar crimes" (p.134). Green (2007) states, "the Hobbs Act [states] extortion is defined as 'the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear'" (p.214). Within this definition, it is "the 'consent' part of extortion that distinguishes it from other forms of theft" (Green, 2007, p.214). In addition, the chance for an individual to be prosecuted for blackmail or extortion is improbable (Green, 2007). Therefore, among each of the various types of white collar crime, there are distinguishing characteristics which authorities should begin to focus on for future prevention.
When thinking of white collar crime and the involvement of corporations, one name that might come to mind is Enron. Enron had one of the largest economic collapses and filed for bankruptcy in the United States. Following the collapse, the accounts from Enron were restated from the previous five years and massive debts along with accounting fraud was discovered. To be specific, "in September 2001, there was unreported debts of 1.2 billion" (McBarnet, 2006, p.1093). In December 2001, the collapse of Enron had a "massive impact on employees, shareholders and lenders" (McBarnet, 2006, p.1093). After the collapse of Enron, it raised a lot of red flags for how corporations conduct their business.
In addition, Hindelang, Godfredson and Garofalo created the lifestyle theory which states "crime victimization that acknowledges that not everyone has the same lifestyle and some lifestyles expose people to more risks than others do" (Linden, 2016, p.417). Moreover, this focuses on individuals who socialize frequently with others who commit crime and have a greater chance of being victimized (Linden, 2016). For instance, people that tend to enjoy nightlife more frequently than those who stay home or people that give out their credit information on insecure websites have increased chances of being victimized. By making lifestyle choices, individuals either have a higher or lower risk of being victims of white collar crime.
Messner and Rosenfield created the institutional anomie theory. Institutional anomie can be defined as "strong pressures to succeed monetarily and weak restrains on the means to succeed in a society that emphasizes economics leads to crime" (Linden, 2016, p. 284). Furthermore, this concept expresses the need that individuals have to make the American dream become a reality and that money is an immense desire. Moreover, the idea of the American dream contributes to crime directly because many individuals become inclined to use illegal methods to acquire money (Linden, 2016).
In conclusion, white collar crime is one of the largest growing crimes of the twenty first century. However, the greatest problem of white collar crime is detecting it and many cases are not reported to the police. Many sociologists and criminologists are still unable to figure out methods to stop white collar crime. Further, it is vastly underestimated how dangerous this type of crime is- causing damage to the economy and society. Therefore, it is imperative that