Theories Behind White Collar Crime

For just a moment, by letting the imagination wander, one can easily conjure up a vision of what they consider a stereotypical criminal to be, ranging from a bandit dressed in black to a gangster with a big cigar and a machine gun, to the modern "gangsta" of the urban jungle of today. The reality is, however, that while these stereotypes have and do exist, a much larger criminal element is alive, well, and growing in our midst- the white collar criminal. Because the term "white collar criminal" is thrown about with such casualty, this paper will define what a white collar criminal is, provide examples of the causes/effects of white collar crime, and ultimately prove the theory that white collar criminals pose as much of a threat to society as a gang of gun wielding thugs, and perhaps, even more.

The Evolution of White Collar Criminals

Although it surely can be said that the type of criminal activity of which we speak in this paper has existed as long as something of value has existed and someone else sought to take the valuables from their rightful owner without permission, the actual term of "white collar crime" was coined by Edwin Sutherland in a 1939 address to the American Sociological Association, when Sutherland identified a criminal element that was more affluent than the average street criminal, generally engaged in more complex crimes, and committed crimes that involved more brain than brawn (Weisburd, et al, 2001). While Sutherland drew attention to this type of criminal, suggestions of white collar crime, if not the exact use of this term to describe them, can be found decades earlier, in the writings of social reform authors like Upton Sinclair in the early 1900s, for example (Turner, et al, 1993).

Having shown that white collar criminals exist, the question begs as to what kinds of activities in which the average white collar criminal participates. A widely recognized resource on the topic explains the types of white collar crime as follows:
"White-collar crimes may be perpetrated by the following:

* Individuals against other individuals. Most of these crimes have been committed by people in a position of authority and control, such as family members, attorneys, real estate, and insurance, agents, conservators, and physicians.

* Insiders against their organization. Internal criminals include business partners, office managers, computer programmers, stockbrokers, and senior executive officers.

*External criminals. External criminals include forgers, counterfeiters, computer hackers, industrial spies, and office supply pirates.

Whether internal or external, white-collar criminals' tactics include trickery, deceit, or misrepresentation. Some familiar schemes are customer impersonations, medical and insurance frauds, real estate and banking swindles, and embezzlements. The crimes may involve forged or counterfeit checks, receipts, business records, or other legal documents, or the criminals may be aided by technologies, such as on-line computer terminals, fax machines, and color copiers" (Turner, et al, 1993, p. 57).

What the above definition/clarification of white collar crime shows is that it is widespread and diverse, and there are definite reasons for this. First, one must consider the fact that the global economy has evolved, as has technology, to the point where the amount of wealth to be stolen, and the advanced tools to steal it, in more abundant numbers than have ever been seen in previous periods of human history (Podgor, 1997). Additionally, for the white collar criminal, as we will now discuss, the benefits far outweigh the risks, at least in their highly developed and deviated minds.
Cause/Effect of White Collar Crime

The previous portion of the research showed that white collar crime has existed for ages, and has evolved with the progress of the human race and international economies. In the mind of the white collar criminal, there also are other factors which cause white collar crimes to be perpetrated. On the most basic level of the human psyche, the limitless possibilities of greed cannot be ignored- for example, an accountant who sees millions of dollars passing through his hands daily may inevitably come to the conclusion that he or she is entitled to their "fair share" of these funds, although the reality is that they are supposed to be the caretakers of the funds for their clients/employers. Another possible scenario has a doctor submitting false bills to a large medical insurance company under the justification that the "big insurance company" won't miss a few dollars. What everything filters down to in the mind of the white collar criminal is that the benefits of the crime far outweigh the risks. Essentially, this kind of thinking and the resulting criminal activity places a financial and ethical burden on society at the very least, and as we will now discuss, some much larger threats as well.

The Threat to Society

A popular misconception in regard to white collar crime is that it does not exist to a large extent as opposed to more violent crime; this misconception is based on the fact that white collar crime is somewhat transparent to the average person because one does not see destroyed property or broken bodies as would be seen in the case of a drive by shooting or a mob-related assassination of criminal rivals. Also, much of the white collar crime that exists is not publicized by the victims out of embarrassment in some cases, and the desire to keep financial information and the like confidential in others. Statistically, however, the indication is that white collar crime is the largest growing segment of criminal activity because of the potential to gain a great deal on the part of the criminal with seemingly little risk of being caught, almost no possibility of physical harm as in the case of violent crime, and the aforementioned sense of entitlement to other people's property, motivated by envy and greed (Wells, 1990).

The literal explosion of white collar crime, and its proven potential for greater growth in the future, makes it obvious that the threat it poses to society is major. White collar crime, in the case of embezzlement/financial fraud for example, can destroy companies, lead to job loss for thousands of people, and harm the economy, as evidenced by such recent events as the Enron debacle which led to not only the collapse of a major business organization, but also literally destroyed the lives and futures of thousands of innocent victims, whose wounds, while not visible to the eye, were no less serious than those of a gun or knife.

White collar crime will also continue to boom because of the need for money laundering and other forms of fraud to allow such popular, albeit reprehensible activities like global terrorism and drug trafficking to occur. Money is the fuel that keeps the fuel of international terror burning, and this money often comes through illegal drug channels and either directly or indirectly from white collar criminals, whose job it is to make the funds appear legitimate to the prying eyes of law enforcement (Daily Record, 2006).

Conclusion

This paper has proven that white collar crime is well established, in demand, and will likely become even more so as the world becomes more chaotic, greedy and deviant. In closing, another important point needs to be made- as long as something valuable exists, someone will seek to separate those valuables from their legitimate owners. For this reason, the fight against white collar crime must never cease.

References

DRUG BUSTERS TARGET LAWYERS & MONEYMEN; Special Unit Pledge to Hunt Down the White-Collar Crooks. (2006, January 2). Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland), p. 25.
Podgor, E. S. (1997). Globalization and the Federal Prosecution of White Collar Crime. American Criminal Law Review, 34(2), 325-346.
Turner, D. L., & Stephenson, R. G. (1993, February). The Lure of White-Collar Crime. Security Management, 37, 57+.
Weisburd, D., Waring, E., & Chayet, E. F. (2001). White-Collar Crime and Criminal Careers. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Wells, J. T. (1990). Six Common Myths about Fraud; If Not Debunked, They Can Obscure the Existence of White-Collar Crime. Journal of Accountancy, 169(2), 82+.