NCJ Number
108685
Journal
Journal of Social Issues Volume: 43 Issue: 3 Dated: (1987) Pages: 43-55
Date Published
1987
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This commentary critiques the Braithwaite et al (1987) article advocating the need for covert facilitation as a necessary and proactive response to white-collar crime by the powerful and elite.
Abstract
The commentary suggests that the article is inadequate in its logic and shows an unwarranted optimism in bureaucratically mandated social and legal interventions and insufficient attention to issues of implementation and long-range consequences. The paper fails to document the extent or dimensions of class inequality in law enforcement, a justification offered for the use of entrapment in white-collar crime. It offers a solution for alleged inequalities without adequate analysis of the causes of the problem, and it fails to justify the argument that covert facilitation is the only way to deal with certain low-visibility offenses. Further, the procedural safeguards and restrictions advocated (e.g., probable cause) are likely to worsen the class equality that the authors purport would be corrected. 19 references. (Author abstract modified)