WCC Exam 1

Sutherland

Sutherland

• was outraged at corporate criminality

• motivated by the realization that most theories in his time were focused on the lower-class

• differential association theory (criminality as a learning process)

Criminaloid

the businessman who committed exploitative/illegal, acts out of a desire to max. profit, while hiding behind a facade of respectability

Ross

• regarded criminaloids as guilty of moral insensibility, murder of consumers and workers

• supported a just and decent capitalist society

White Collar Crime

illegal or unethical acts that violate public trust committed by an individual/organization, usually during the course of legitimate occupational activity, by persons of high or respectable social status for personal or organizational gain

Polemical Stage (Multistage approaches to studying)

the popular conception that WCC is illegal and harmful actions of elites/respectable peoples carried out for economic gain in legitimate org/occupational activity

Typological Stage (Multistage approaches to studying)

organizing patterns of crime into coherent categories

Operational Stage (Multistage approaches to studying)

providing a direction for more research

Inverse Hypothesis

posits that the lvl of criminological attention to crime varies inversely with the lvl of harm

Trust

confidence in a relationship that the other party will act honorably and fulfill legitimate expectations

Respectability

normative: an assessment of moral integrity

status-related: legitimate occupation

sypmtomatic: outward of acceptable status

Ceremony

respectable status being publicly acknowledged

ex: graduations

Degradation Ceremonies

Strip people of their respectable status

• ex: criminal trial

Risk

• associated with probability/wagers, or great danger

• strongly favors the offender bc probability of getting caught and prosecuted are super low

• corps. likely to put their workers at risk for monetary benefit

Normal Accident

accidents that complex modern technological systems inevitability produce

Cost-Benefit Analysis

attempts to impose a monetary value on human lives and accepts the loss of a certain number of lives as economic necessity

Demographic Char. of Conventional Crime Offenders

• disproportionately young

• lower-class

• male-dominated

• generally age out of crime

• 1/4 arrested are African American

Demographic Char. of WCC Offenders

• usually middle-aged or older

• middle to upper-class

• whites most likely overrepresented

• male dominated

• more likely to be employed, better educated

• more likely to have stable fam. situations/be married

• more likely to have a community group

• commit multiple types of crime, generally recidivate

Social Movement

• as public concern for some forms of white collar crime increased, politicians and prosecutors could enjoy some career advantages by pursuing it

• corporate scandals early in the 21st century initially forced the Bush administration to proclaim its commitment to combating corporate crime

• the major war against terrorism, starting 9/11/2001, deflected public attention and CJS resources away from white collar crime.

Issues with Exposing WCC

• WCC less visible then conventional crime

• many victims don’t even know there was a crime

Media

• attention tends to shift away from orgs and towards indivs

• TV coverage lacks attention on the middle stages of the story

• more dramatic crimes get more coverage (identity theft gets a lot of attn bc of public fear)

• controlled by rich

Muckrakers

• early 20th century

• inveighed against the exploitative crimes of the “robber barons” and their confederates

Informers

Provide CJS personnel w/ info that can further investigation

• extremely helpful to WCC cases since they’re largely visible

  • may abuse any “immunity” given to them

Whistleblower

a source of information needed for the detection, and prosecution, of many WCC

• not criminally implicated

• people may not want to be bc self-preservation

• pay a price, be is socially or losing a home

Positivistic Approach

WCC can be studied scientifically

Humanistic Approach

focus on social construction of the meaning of WCC

Role of Journalists

• journalists are drawn to the case approach of studying WCC, and they play a big role in the study of WCC overall

Case Study

in-depth study of a single case

• S: provides us with a concrete understanding of the realities of a particular case

• W: removes cases from their historical context, may be atypical

Experiment

method of study exemplifying a scientific approach that calls for an examination of the effects of an IV on a DV

Field Experiment

carried out IRL

• ex: sending 2 cars to body shops, only one with insurance. Ones with insurance got higher estimates bc those people are less likely to shop around

Natural Experiment

allows researchers to observe but not manipulate a real-world situation

Survey

helps study opinions, attitudes, and beliefs, as well as experiences.

• S: good for gauging fear, perceptions of fairness, personal patterns of criminality, victimization, etc.

• W: may not rep. pop.; may have low response rate; questions may lead to answers/misunderstandings

Observational Research (aka participant-observer research)

direct observation of individuals, a group, or an org. over time

• WCC not well discovered by this means

Secondary Data Analysis

not directly generated/collected by the researcher

• W: limited by quality of data, open to a variety of interpretations

Archival Data Analysis

examination of written documents

• S: may give new perspective, one of the most credible sources of information

• W: selectivity of what was recorded may impact results

Content Analysis

analyzes the rep. of something in the media to find underlying forms in social communication.

• media plays an important role, so it’s important to analyze

• a very accessible type of analysis

Self-report Studies

respondents are asked to report anon. on their own lawbreaking activities

• S: gets info on stuff that may not have been noticed before

• W: may lie feeling they might get caught, may not understand questions

Direct Costs

The direct loss of the crime

• generally the money or property lost by victims of WCC

Indirect Costs

Bad things indirectly caused by WCC

• hard to measure

• ex: higher taxes, higher insurance rates

Victims of WCC

• relatively neglected, ignored

• poor, POC, women, elderly are vulnerable

• crimes often defined as accidents

• they are not necessarily satisfied with the outcomes

• may precipitate the crime

Corporate Crime

offenses committed by corporate officials for their corporation; the offenses of the corporation itself

Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith)

• condemned “the mean rapacity, the monopolizing spirit of merchants and manufacturers, who neither are nor ought be the rulers of mankind”

• large shareholders put their own interests first

Marx

• the corp as one of the instruments of a capitalist system that exploits and dehumanizes workers

• corps not controlled by those who own them

• managers and stockholders have their best interests in mind and end ip exploiting workers

• pursuit of profit is the sole reason for corps.

Robber Barons

people who got rich through unjust means

• involved in every manner of bribery, fraud, price gouging, exploitation of labor, etc.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890

a federal statute which prohibits activities that restrict interstate commerce and competition in the marketplace

• inspired by monopolistic practices of huge trusts

Char. of today’s Corps.

• widely regarded as the centerpiece of a free-market capitalist economy

• people regard them as their providers

• a negative view of them is widespread

• mostly after money

Paper Entrepreneurs

investors that look for short-term profit

• the driving force behind the intensified wave of corporate takeovers since the 1980s, which led to many lost jobs

Interlocking Directorates

when the people at the top of companies generally overlap/interact

Power Elite

the top people in the corporate world

• have interlocks that allow them to advance their interrelated interests and move between private and public sector positions

2010 FEC v Citizens United

overruling an earlier decision that allowed prohibitions on independent expenditures by corporations

Corporate Transgressions

harmful although not necessarily illegal actions

Corporate Violence

• indirect (victims are not assaulted by another person)

• the causal relationship between the corporate action and the injury to health (or death) is not always clear

• motivated by money

• lots of people acting collectively

Corporate Fraud

• has economic consequences

• included restraints of trade; rebates; patent, trademark, and copyright violations; misrepresentations in advertising; unfair labor practices; financial manipulations; and war crimes.

Defense Contract Fraud

when a private company contracted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) does not satisfactorily provide the military with the goods or service it was paid for

• large amount of money involved

• offenders are major corps.

• corps are not deterred by public punishment

• resolution is typically a financial settlement

Government Contracts

Corporations with contracts to provide goods and services to the government

• often defraud the government

• ex: healthcare, defense expenditures

Price Fixing

when competing corporations join together and agree to fix prices at a certain level

Parallel Pricing

wherein industry “leaders” set inflated prices and supposed competitors adjust their own prices accordingly

Price Gouging

systematic overcharging

Surveillance of Employees

• said to contribute to alienation in the workplace

• used to combat employee theft

• exceed legitimate purpose at some point

Managerial Accounting Fraud

a deliberate fraud committed by. a firm or company's management that injures investors and creditors

Self-Dealing

corporate boards of directors exercise some oversight and control over managers, but directors are often allies of or beholden to the CEO, and in any case they are not especially well positioned to police the managers

Strategic Bankruptcy

when a company uses bankruptcy laws for business purposes when they’re really fine

• used to avoid meeting certain burden- some financial obligations, including, in some cases, obligations to creditors

Regulators

• closely allied with those in power

Stockholders

• a small-scale capitalist who has lost much control over his capital to those who actually manage the corporations (Marx)

Occupational Crime

violation of the legal codes in the course of an activity in a legitimate occupation

Avocational Crime

crimes committed during a hobby, personal time, or occasional occupation

• ex: avoiding personal taxes, defrauding insurance companies

Retail Crime

deceptive business practices

• ex: labelling non-kosher food as kosher to sell at higher prices

• lower level employees are the least-likely to notice

• stores of all sizes may commit crime

Defrauding the Vulnerable

exploitation of vulnerable people by shop owners

• the elderly, children, immigrant workers, etc are the most vulnerable

• ex: billing for services never rendered, overcharging, embezzlement, bribery, and forgery.

Medical Crime

• physicians more concerned with their reputation than patients

• seen as a minor problem

• types of medical need depends on demographics (living in a different place means different operations are more common)

Overutilization

billing for superfluous and unnecessary tests and other services

Ping-ponging

referring patients to several different practitioners when their symptoms don’t warrant it

Family-ganging

extending several unnecessary services to all members of a patient’s family

Steering

directing patients to the clinic’s pharmacy to fill unneeded prescriptions

Upgrading

billing for services more extensive than were actually performed

Legal Crime

lawyers engaging in criminal conduct in the course of discharging their professional duties

• general public is sometimes skeptical of lawyers

• types: fraud, aid and abetting clients, bribery, perjury, conspiracy, and theft

• hard to prove

Academic Crime

illegal/harmful conduct committed specifically in the context of an academic role for gain

• professors thought to be harmless

• types: plagiarism, misuse/embezzlement of uni. funds, forgery or fraudulent claims about credentials, unresolved conflicts bc of grants/peer reviews/student evals.

Student Crime

illegal/harmful conduct committed specifically in the context of a student role for gain

• ex: resume fraud

• females less likely to cheat than males

• important ground for adult WCC

Religious Crime

by invoking the name of God, religious leaders prey on the gullible

• some of the most financially successful ministers are also the least educated

Employee Theft

the unauthorized taking, control, or transfer of money/property of the formal work org. perpetrated by an employee during their job related to their job

Company Property

basic, bulky components and tools that are closely monitored

Property of Uncertain Ownership

small, inexpensive, and expendable components and tools such as nails, bolts, scrap metals, etc.

• most likely to be stolen

Personal Property

monogrammed and personally modified tools

Workplace Size and Culture

people more likely to steal from large orgs, orgs they are dissatisfied with

• can be more easily rationalized bc big orgs are generally more exploitative and less likely to suffer harm

• the larger the org, the less likely they are to be caught

Income Tax Evasion

the failure to pay or a deliberate underpayment of taxes

• an act involving deceit, subterfuge, and concealment

• could be an individual or occupational type of WCC

• not uncommonly related with other WCCs

Tax Avoidance

the arrangement of a taxpayer’s affairs to minimize tax liability

• legal

Insurance Fraud

when someone knowingly lies to obtain a benefit or advantage to which they are not otherwise entitled or someone knowingly denies a benefit that is due