NCJ Number
113213
Journal
Criminology Volume: 26 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1988) Pages: 505-518
Date Published
1988
Length
14 pages
Annotation
A mail survey of California district attorneys regarding corporate crime focused on the recent experiences of the prosecutors with such crimes and on factors that limit the likelihood of their prosecuting corporate offenders.
Abstract
A significant majority of the district attorneys had prosecuted a variety of corporate crimes, and a sizable minority anticipated devoting more resources to corporate crime prosecutions in the future. There was a strong consensus among the respondents that the primary obstacle to corporate crime prosecutions is not political but practical, notably in the resources available to them. Such potential barriers as corporate defense resources, concurrent civil suits, lack of public support, and potentially adverse career consequences apparently have minimal impact on the decision to prosecute. Prosecutors in small districts were more constrained by the potential impact a corporate prosecution might have on the local economy than their counterparts in large districts. This finding suggests that community context may influence social control responses to corporate lawbreakers. 3 tables, 36 references. (Author abstract modified)