NCJ Number
88294
Date Published
1982
Length
232 pages
Annotation
This volume explores a number of white-collar crime issues, from case studies of environmental abuses to theoretical examinations of the white-collar offender's psychology and corporate crime control.
Abstract
One essay criticizes Sutherland's attempt to ascribe the same motivations to white-collar criminality as lower-class criminality, suggesting instead that the concept of white-collar crime be restricted to corporate violations and similar criminal acts. An examination of antitrust violations in the heavy electrical industry during 1961 also permits reevaluation of Sutherland's theories, particularly his contention that criminal justice practitioners are afraid to antagonize businessmen. The results of this antitrust case against General Electric and Westinghouse, the largest of its kind, suggest that assurance of punishment is one of the best deterrents against corporate criminality. 'Upperworld' crime cannot be readily analyzed in terms of participants' psychological experiences because these offenders are usually unavailable for direct investigation. Attempts to explain this form of crime have focused on society's value system and on the processes through which the criminal justice system singles out this behavior for attention. Pointing out that an existing constituency is willing to support heavier sanctions against white-collar offenders, another paper explores enforcement of California's Occupational Carcinogens Control Act. Other essays discuss potential sanctions against abuses of power and set out a research and action agenda for white-collar crime. An index and chapter references are supplied. For the paper on abuse of power, see NCJ 88295.