White collar crimes and their impacts

White Collar Crimes

The first definition states that this is an illegal act committed via non-physical means by guile to gain personal advantage. This definition's drawback is that it belittles white collar crimes; that harm people physically and psychology and arouses concern in the society. The other is divided into two parts; occupational crime which are committed by individuals to promote their personal interests and corporate crime committed by organizations executives to benefit the company (Sutherland, 1949).

White Collar Crime over Elite Deviance

The application of deviance in the realms of white collar generates several fundamental problems. Deviance is associated with individuals such as alcoholics and mentally ill. White collar offenders are fully integrated into the society and are perceived as normal without any disorders. White collar crime offenders are in conformance with occupational norms, rather than deviating; deviance is characterized by peer group conformity but in the white collar crime, deviance from conventional norms may be more ambiguous. Therefore, it is suitable to restrict occupational deviance to non-criminal violations of norms within a legitimate occupational setting.

Typological Approach to White Collar Crime

There is a distinction between corporate crime and occupational crime in the course of activity in a legitimate occupation. This typological distinction is accepted since white collar encompasses a broad range of activities that can only be analyzed in a clear manner when subdivided into types. Though corporate and occupational crime are the two major forms of white collar crime, recognition of other forms such as governmental crime, techno crime, enterprise crime and vocational crime is important since they have links with the core concept of white collar crime.

White Collar vs. Conventional Crime

The public views white collar crime to be less serious than conventional crimes. Most individuals see white collar criminals as non-threatening guys in suits and are treated with respect and courtesy rather than fear and severity. In addition, the public considers white collar crimes as non-violent victimless crimes (Friedrichs, 1966). The U.S. courts treat white collar offenders leniently; a procedure that makes the public view the offenders as harmless compared to other criminals.

Curbing White Collar Crime

Targeting weak links that may be vulnerable to attacks by carrying out awareness campaigns. Firms such as credit card companies, post offices, banks and delivery services as well as media departments should be made aware of potential crimes. Once educated, these firms should be able to investigate malicious activities and carry out arrests of offenders. These undertakings generally minimize occurrences of these crimes.

Perception that White Collar Crime is Serious