WHITE- COLLAR CRIME

Employee Crime and Fraud



Employee Crime and Fraud

Introduction

Out of many employee crimes and fraud, White collar is one of the significant crimes. First coined by sociologist Bazley, White -collar crime refers to the crime committed by the person of a high society status and occupation. It is also known as business, economic or political crime, which tends to violate the civil law. White- collar crime overlaps with the corporate crime because the opportunity of fraud, computer crime, money laundering and forgery are open to the white- collar employees. This term dates back to 1939. It represents criminals who attribute different characteristic and motives than the usual street crimes. It attempts to study two fields i.e. crime and high society. The correlation between money and social status are also studied in this area of crime. White- collar crime is not as visible as the blue- collar crimes, therefore, the likelihood of criminals to get punished are also rare (Benson, 2009).

Discussion

Types of White- Collar Crimes

Workplace crime- it refers to the crime against the employers by the employee for personal gain

Occupational Crime- it refers to an individual's illegal use of the professional position to obtain something of value. It is found at all levels of labor force.

Organizational crime- it involves the decision makers of a corporation in illegal activity for the organizational advantage as opposed to personal gain (Benson, 2009)

Patriotic crime- the crime committed to obtain significant national goals. It involves actions taken outside the legitimate channels, for instance, violation of the international law, false imprisonment, and tax laws etc.

Examples of White- Collar Crimes

Computer frauds- breach of information, stealing funds by hacking into the bank's account.

Offering missing goods to a buyer.

Embezzlement- misuse of items with which a person is assigned, employee theft.

Misuse of company property such as retail items, and theft from cash registers.

Antitrust law violations.

Bribery.

Environmental law violations.

Government fraud.

Mail fraud.

Trade secret theft.

Telemarketing fraud (Jordan , 2009)

White- Collar Crime and the Workplace

For a couple of years, an increasing number of white- collar crimes have been reported. Unfortunately, the influential and rich people are engaged in these types of crimes. They are unlike the traditional crimes with which people are familiar for ages. These are criminals who are apparently soft spoken, suave, well educated and socially respectable. The modern industrial capitalism increased the white- collar crime in the society. Their origin dates back o the eighteenth century in Britain. From the early nineteenth century they prospered in the European and North American countries. Only media write ups and government reports have addressed this issue so far. However, no research work on the spread of white- collar crime has been undertaken on a broad scale.

It is difficult to tell the difference between the organized and the white-collar crime. Even if fraud is suspected, no footprints, DNA, or eye witness is found. The white-collar criminals only leave the paper trails and take time and skills to sift through. With the evolution of technology, these crimes are more rampant, but more complicated to ...