White collar crime: defining characteristics and criminality theories

White Collar Crimes

Criminality Theories

A white collar crime can be simply defined as the framework that instigates immoral actions that don't always endanger lives but do harm the society in one way or another (Freidrichs, 2010). The aspects or factors that might thus be considered by white collar theories to validate a crime as a white collar crime include the following:

It is defined illegal: no act if officially legal or illegal till there is a law in place for it defining it as such.

It involves human input: any and all white collar crimes involve an input of a human to be conceived and completed. All human inputs that are considered factors of the white collar crimes are harmful to the society at some level and are thus countered either on a state/legal level or through informal structure of cultural norms or standards.

It is a mental phenomenon: any and all white collar crimes are believed to be a mental design as opposed to a social or personal oriented crime i.e. only those who have a shrewd intellect will be able to engage and pull off a white collar crime.

It is tech-driven: In a technology-based world, it is hard to assume any act will be complete without a technological input. White collar crimes are primarily based around the use of some form of technology for completion ranging from the use of a computer to managing security cameras.

It is not part of the public order crimes: public order crimes are simply those crimes that are defined or perceived as detrimental to the society but in reality are those criminal acts that do not necessarily harm or endanger anyone.

It is institutionalized: all white collar crimes are at all levels defined and structured by the institutions in a society. These institutions are responsible for recognizing the cultural norms and social standards as well determine the criminal-oriented impacts of all activities.

Hence, it can be said that all factors of white collar crimes are social or linguistic in nature (Freidrichs, 2010).

Organizational Criminality

Rational Choice Theory

Rational choice theory is founded and dependent upon the social notions of the utilitarian and classical schools of thought. These were first coined by Cesare Beccaria but have been made popular by Jeremy Bentham. These philosophers contended that punishment, if certain, quick, and proportionate towards the crime, would be an appropriate preventive measures for any similar crimes in the future, with the threats of punishment leading to increased risks of the act, thus outweighing the possible good results for the offender. With this particular perspective, crime deterrence or decline measures could be designed that help in the effective efforts needed to complete the crime. Rational choice ideas also claim that growing chance of problem and probability of being caught, with the help of increased monitoring exercises, police or security officer presence, additional street lighting, along with other measures, work well in lessening crime (Hall et al., 2008).

Social Strain Theory

Strain theory, (also called Mertonian Anomie), was strongly advocated by the American sociologist -- Robert Merton -- who stressed that mainstream culture, especially within the United States was saturated with hopes for chance, freedom and wealth or as Merton defines it -- the American Dream. Many people subscribe to this dream also it turns into an effective cultural and mental motivation. Merton also used the word anomie, which he defined as a dichotomy among the society's expectation of the people, and just what individual people could really achieve. Therefore, when the social structure of possibilities is imbalanced and obstructs most people from recognizing the dream, a number of them will use illegitimate means (crime) to be able to survive in it. Others will also either back away from the society or give into deviant subcultures (gang people or urban destitute drunks and drug abusers amongst others) (Freidrichs, 2010).

Postmodernist Criminology

In criminology the structure of Postmodernist School is applicable to study regarding crime and crooks, and identifies "criminality" as a product of the power that can be used to limit the behavior of individual people who do not have the power in the social structure, but nevertheless attempt to overcome social inequality and behave using the methods and techniques that the institutions or power structures forbid. It concentrates on the identity of the human input, the social constructs, aspects of multiculturalism, strength of the feminist school of thought, and human associations to handle the aspects of difference without allowing essentialism or reductionism to surface, nevertheless its contributions aren't always appreciated.

Biogenetics of Criminality

Crime and also the identification of injury are groups constituted through the discourse of the biogenetics that make up criminality but they're, nonetheless, "real" within their effects. There might be harms of reduction, which occur whenever a social entity encounters a loss of revenue or some quality, and endangerment of repression, which occur whenever a social entity encounters a set limit stopping the achievement of the preferred finish.

Crime may be the result of an individual entity's investment in making up a positive change which, with the use of disrespecting power over others, declines their full humanity and, therefore, renders them powerless to determine their very own variations. Not even close to being limited to "law," within this broadened view, the use or abuse of power may be the cause of criminal acts and harms and, hence, of crime. Law basically legitimizes existing social associations of power. Crime, then, is really a contingent of universality i.e. The sufferers are plenty but they are constituted contingently, in accordance with in the past specifiable relations of power. Power is thus created and maintained utilizing aspects of ideology and the application of discursive activities.

Conflict Perspective

In the contemporary sense of the conflict theory, criminal acts are merely an after-shoot of all acts where the benefits outweigh the harms caused as a result for the individual committing the crime. If the individual believes he will get what he wants and can get away with attaining it though illegal means without getting caught will be inclined to commit crimes or illegal acts. The radical theory of criminology asserts that conflict primarily exists in a society due to its social and economic structures. The theory contends that if and when there is a differentiation between the powerful in the society and the society as one unit, there will always be a strong potential for conflict to surface especially on those issues that are pertinent to the entire social structure. In terms of the Marxist approach, crime or criminal inclinations are a natural human phenomenon. The Marxist school of thought propagates that all human are always consciously evolving and are thus diverse individuals with differing traits -- thus the society as a whole will rarely form consensus of the rights and wrongs or the needs of the social structure. Hence, those criminology theorists who show support for the Marxist school of thought primarily assert that the social structure is constructed on human diversity which can exist on an individual level as well as the communal level. They also assert that this does not necessarily entail that criminality is a genetic or psychological aspect -- they assert that it is in fact determined on the society and its norms and thus the society is responsible for the criminality that exists in it. Studying criminalization can, after reading the aforementioned facts, can help us in studying the white collar crimes as it will help us determine how and why the crimes occur or do not occur and thus help us also identify the factors that influence white collar criminal aspects in individuals.