¶ … security manager can do to prevent white collar crime. White collar crime and its prevention

The masses are often inclined to associate criminal behaviors with individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged. However, individuals who are part of privileged socioeconomic communities are also likely to engage in criminal activities. "The types of crime may differ from those of the lower classes, such as lawyers helping criminal clients launder their money, executives bribe public officials to achieve public contracts, or accountants manipulating balance sheet to avoid taxes." (Gottschalk 11) Security practitioners experience much difficulty in dealing with white-collar crime because of the multitude of ways it differs from conventional crime.

White collar crime

In spite of his or her privileged position, the white collar criminal is much more likely to be caught because of his or her social status, especially considering individuals who are public figures. Even with this, the fact that such persons are typically well-acquainted with strategies they can employ with the purpose of evading capture makes them more evasive.

The idea of white-collar crime emerged in 1939, as Edwin Sutherland devised it with the intention of describing environments where crime was presented as an appealing concept. Sutherland believed that people in privileged circles were provided with information they could take advantage of. While numerous persons were hesitant about committing crimes as a result of coming across such information, others actually did everything in their power in order to increase their profits. "In particular differential association theory proposes that a person associating with individuals who have deviant or unlawful mores, values, and norms learns criminal behavior." (Gottschalk 11)

In spite of its rather specific definition, white-collar crime is a very complex concept and it can be related to by using a great deal of cases. Especially when considering the contemporary society, the existence of the Internet makes it possible for a great deal of individuals to engage in committing white-collar crime. These people no longer have to belong to the upper class and they do not necessarily have to be respected by their peers. "In Sutherland's definition of white-collar crime, a white-collar criminal is a person of responsibility and high social status who commits crime in the course of its occupation." (Gottschalk 12)

In order to be able to understand white-collar crime, someone would have to divide it into several sections, with each of these respective sections referring to a particular type of criminal. Even with this, this essay will mainly be discussing with regard to the conventional idea of a white-collar criminal. Even though they are not the only ones who get involved in committing white-collar crime, business managers and executives who do so are usually likely to perform actions that are much more spectacular and that trigger a chain of reactions from the general public.

Society is in need of professionals in the security industry and such roles are likely to be in high-demand regardless of circumstances. Factors like the recession do very little to affect this industry, taking into account that there is always a significant need for persons who can effectively put an end to crime. "The need for educated and trained security officers and administrators is increasing with the need to counteract terrorism, computer crime, embezzlement, employee theft, drugs and violence in the workplace, fraud, and shoplifting." (Fischer, Halibozek, & Walters 41) Numerous organizations from around the world have gotten actively involved in recruiting security professionals because of the benefits coming along with doing so.

Security managers in the context of white-collar crime

In order to be able to gain a complex understanding about white-collar crime, a person needs to learn that this type of offense needs to be addressed from a point-of-view involving the nature of the crime rather than the offender's social status. As a security manager, one is likely to experience problems in dealing with white-collar crime because he or she rarely has access to verified methods of discovering whether criminal activity actually exists and the degree to which this crime has affected a person or an institution. "A difficulty in detecting its presence is the fact that a victim is not aware that he is being victimized, and when discovery is made, it may be too late to take effective action against the offender." (Fay 194) White-collar crime can be largely regarded as an invisible form of crime, this emphasizing the problems arising as the security manager attempts to catch criminals.

In addition to being an invisible crime, white-collar crime is made more difficult by two other factors. On the one hand, the...

On the other hand, security managers often have problems keeping up with the complex strategies adopted by white-collar criminals. Both of these concepts play important roles in making investigations especially difficult and in enabling criminals to anticipate any moves that law enforcement agents might consider, thus meaning that they are practically prepared to deal with almost any security-related problem they come across.
When considering a white-collar crime, a security manager does not have access to a crime scene and needs to find clues in places where no one ever thinks of looking. In contrast to a conventional crime, a white-collar crime is normally in progress and criminals are very careful not to attract any attention while also taking on fronts that confuse the authorities and that make it seem that their business is perfectly legitimate.

During an investigation involving white-collar crime, a security manager first needs to be able to understand what the crime actually is. Only then is he or she able to employ a backward type of investigation in order to understand the main points of the crime. These ideas are typically extremely important when considering white-collar crime:

White collar crime is normally detected by accident

The individuals reporting criminal activity are anonymous

Plaintiff rarely emerge in the beginning of the investigation

The crime has been going on for some time before it is actually detected

White collar crime can spread over large territories, thus making it difficult for it to be addressed from a point-of-view involving security management as a consequence of the diverse types of laws present in several areas

Such a crime cannot be characterized by using just one legislation

The main individuals involved in white-collar crime are respectable people who receive wide-spread support throughout the course of the investigation

Proof is difficult to discover and when it is there is a high risk for it to be destroyed 'accidentally'

Social and economic power as essential tools for white-collar criminals

Considering the previously mentioned ideas, it can be especially difficult for a security manager to fight white-collar criminals. "Indeed, the economic and political power of white-collar offenders is important precisely because it provides them with access to opportunities and facilitates their ability to deceive, to conceal, and to abuse trust." (Benson & Simpson 88) White-collar criminals can go as far as to alter the political and economical environment where they operate so as for laws to be more permissive and in order for the authorities to have little to no access to evidence that might incriminate them.

Society as a whole can assist the authorities in fighting white-collar crime by making it impossible for criminals to be able to take advantage of criminal opportunities that arise as they become involved in influential circles. White collar crime is often associated with individuals in power, as many individuals who become prominent in communities they stay in gradually come to realize that they can take advantage of their status with the purpose of gaining profits more rapidly. Powerful people can often find themselves in a position where they can abuse the masses and where they can access finances that can be taken with the least amount of efforts (Benson & Simpson 88)

White-collar criminals are frequently used as inspiration for motion pictures and books, with the world rapidly having access to a large amount of information concerning such individuals shortly after they get caught. However, the media world provides much lesser information with regard to victims of white-collar criminals. Surely, the media was unhesitant about publicizing stories about despair associated with people going bankrupt as a consequence of falling victim to white-collar crimes. However, the fact that these people are largely considered to be perfectly normal individuals certainly complicates matters. The only thing differentiating such individuals from others is the fact that they were tricked into believing that they could gain rapid profits. It would be wrong to say that they were guided by greed, as they were simply influenced to think that they had discovered a more rapid method of increasing their finances and thus acted. What is concerning is that many of these victims refuse to accept that they were involved in a con game. "Consequently, many of those swindled did not readily accept the fact that they were victims of a con game and spent a considerable amount of time clamoring for sympathy, restitution, and for public officials to share their perspective." (Lewis 2) Furthermore, the media encourages these people by making…