Crimes of the Powerful

White collar crime

A crime committed by a person of respectability and high status in the course of their occupation.

Occupational crime

Crime committed by employees for personal gain (e.g., stealing from the company).

Corporate crime

Crime committed by employees for the company's benefit.

Financial crimes

Examples include tax evasion.

Crimes against consumers

Examples include false labeling and selling of unfit goods.

Crimes against employees

Examples include breaking health and safety laws.

Crimes against the environment

Examples include illegal pollution of air, water, and land (e.g., toxic waste dumping).

State corporate crime

Harms committed when government institutions and businesses pursue their goals.

Strain theory

If a company cannot achieve its goals, it may employ illegal means.

Differential association

Crime as socially learned behavior where the deviant subculture justifies committing crime.

Labeling theory

An act counts as a crime only if it has been labeled as such.

Marxism (Corporate Crime)

Sees corporate crime as resulting from the normal functioning of capitalism to maximize profits, inevitably causing harm.