NCJ Number
88948
Date Published
1983
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This discussion considers forms of organizational illegality, strategies of law enforcement for various types of organizational illegality, and compliance law enforcement with reference to organizational illegality.
Abstract
Law violations where penal sanctions may be applied are in four major classes: (1) white-collar, which involve using positions of power in legitimate enterprises for illegal personal or organizational gain; (2) common or ordinary violations, which involve the use of position in a legitimate enterprise for illegal personal gain; (3) organized or syndicate law violations, which involve the illegal use of position in an illegal enterprise for illegal gain or consequences; and (4) political law violations, which involve the use of illegal means and position against the legitimate political order to achieve illegitimate ends. On the whole, it is more difficult to detect illegality in organizations, because organizations have greater power to manipulate their activities, victims are uncertain that violations have occurred, and organizations are so complex that detection of violations is made difficult. The detection of illegality in legitimate organizations is easier than in illegitimate organizations because of the accountability structures required for legitimate enterprises. Strategies available to law enforcement in countering organizational violations are inspections, surveillance or monitoring the behavior of persons and organizations, audits, and investigation. The principal objective of a compliance law enforcement system is to secure conformity to law without defining, processing, and penalizing violators. Compliance law enforcement is appropriate when the goal is to prevent the consequences of violations because they are costly or because the conditions of uniformity must be ensured to continue activities.