NCJ Number
228570
Journal
Security Journal Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2009 Pages: 317-330
Date Published
October 2009
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examined how techniques of neutralization were used by white-collar offenders to justify their behavior and minimize the guilt associated with engaging in illegal activity.
Abstract
Sykes and Matza's (1957, 2003) theory of neutralization describes five major techniques used by juvenile delinquents to neutralize their deviant behavior: denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of victim, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties. It is also asserted that these techniques of neutralization were not developed by delinquents in a vacuum, but they were learned and adapted through interactions with others. This study suggests and discusses that these same general categories of neutralization can also be used to categorize neutralizations employed by white-collar offenders. White-collar crime is both a serious and complex problem. It is important for investigators, security specialists, business managers, and other professionals to understand motivations behind how and why individuals participate in such behaviors. The neutralization theory provides a compelling framework to better understand why individuals engage in white-collar crime - specifically, neutralizations were developed to overcome moral hurdles to engaging in illegal behavior. It is suggested that a careful reading of Sykes and Matza's neutralization theory could help develop such tools and make progress in the long-standing fight against white-collar offending. Figure and references