NCJ Number
82234
Date Published
1982
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Canadian laws against traditional nonviolent property crimes are more severe and strictly enforced than laws defining nonviolent white-collar economic crimes, because the laws stem from differing perceptions of the socioeconomic threats posed by the behaviors in question.
Abstract
The traditional nonviolent property offenses selected for analysis were theft, possession of stolen goods, breaking and entering, and auto theft. The comparable corporate offenses analyzed are defined in the Food and Drug Act, the Packaging and Labeling Act, the Hazardous Products Act, the Weights and Measures Act, and the Combines Investigation Act (antitrust law). Although the prescribed fines for the white-collar crimes are somewhat heavier than for traditional property offenses, the prescribed maximum terms of imprisonment are much lighter, and the Crown has many more choices before resorting to the stigmatizing and punitive criminal justice system. Further, enforcement efforts against traditional property crime are much more energetic, yielding charges against many more offenders. These differing approaches to the sanctioning and pursuit of persons who commit different types of economic crimes lie in the state's differing perceptions of the threat posed by the behaviors involved and the types of persons typically committing such crimes. Traditional property crimes are viewed by the state as direct and overt assaults on socioeconomic order, usually perpetrated by members of an undesirable underclass. White-collar crimes, on the other hand, are viewed as excesses committed in the context of desirable economic enterprises, usually committed by persons whose background and occupational skills identify them with the dominant socioeconomic class. Tabular data, 59 references, and 8 notes are provided.