NCJ Number
149129
Date Published
1989
Length
31 pages
Annotation
Scholars and practitioners specializing in white-collar crime were surveyed by written questionnaire to develop an operational definition of white-collar crime for use in policymaking and law enforcement and to identify offenses to include in a white-collar crime reporting system.
Abstract
The sample was stratified both by geographic region and by the participants' occupations. The survey of 270 individuals in 22 States took place through two mailings and received a 68 percent response rate. Results suggested the desirability of including six crimes under the California crime index: embezzlement, corporate (securities) crime, insider loans and concealed deals, investment or sales fraud in real estate, investment or sales fraud in other areas, and bribery. Findings also indicated the desirability of including five crimes in a Federal index: embezzlement, corporate (securities) crime, bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud. The participants also suggested that reporting forms also ask whether a computer was used to commit the offense, whether the offender used a position of public or private trust to commit the crime, the total estimated and proven loss, and the offender's occupation. Although it would be desirable to include the number of victims, these numbers are not easily established. However, the amount of loss and the abuse of trust may well be more practical features of a reporting system. Notes and appended tables and survey instrument