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Responding to the Challenge of White Collar Crime as a Social Problem: Implications for Caribbean States

NCJ Number
174972
Journal
Caribbean Journal of Criminology and Social Psychology Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: July 1997 Pages: 84-99
Author(s)
D O Friedrichs
Date Published
1997
Length
16 pages
Annotation
In an era of intense concern with the problem of crime generally, white-collar crime continues to be accorded less priority relative to conventional crime, despite considerable evidence indicating white-collar crime has significant economic and physical consequences.
Abstract
White-collar crime has been relatively neglected in criminological and criminal justice scholarship and curriculums. Despite a general pattern of increased attention to white-collar crime since the 1970s, white-collar crime still does not have the status of a high-priority social problem. In some localities and under special circumstances, an aroused public has demanded action in response to such white-collar crimes as corporate crime and toxic contamination of residential areas. In many other situations, however, the complex, often indirect, and diffuse character of white-collar crime inhibits public mobilization. White-collar crime continues to be a significant social problem in terms of objective standards measuring harmfulness but not necessarily in terms of public concern. Constraints on according white-collar crime the status of a major social problem are noted, social policy ramifications of white-collar crime are discussed, and the problem of white-collar crime in Caribbean countries is addressed. 19 references