WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

Is Sutherland's Concept of “White Collar Crimes” Appropriate in the 21st Century?

Is Sutherland's Concept of “White Collar Crime” Appropriate in the 21st Century?

Introduction

Man has always been inventive when it comes to crime. People are engaging in crimes since time unknown. Generally, criminal behaviour is typically relates with offences such as theft, rape, arson and kidnappings (Einstadter & Henry, 2006, p. 225). With time, another form of misdemeanour has come up. This type of crime is clerical crime. There are disagreements over its exact definition. Generally, it is a crime by a person that has a reputable job, status and respect in the society. It is a contrasting form of crime where typical rationale and justifications do not apply. White collar crimes were rare and perpetrators would go unpunished. As the world began to realise the emergence of a highly complex and sophisticated form of felony, the need for preventive laws was felt.

As a result, criminologists are performing studies in this regard. No other person has been as influential as Edwin Sutherland. Sutherland was an American sociologist was work in the field of criminology has revolutionised the way crime is viewed. His Differential Association Theory is arguably his most appreciated work on the subject. Sutherland was also the author of books such as Twenty Thousand Homeless Men (1936) and Principles of Criminology (1939). Sutherland is famous for coining the term 'white-collar crime'.

Emergence of White-Collar Crimes

Crime has, generally, been associated with people face economical or financial hardships. People have committed crimes routinely to meet their needs and often due to the frustration. White-collar crimes changed the meaning of the word 'crime'. It is a common belief that crime is committed by those that have low social standing, reputation in a society (Acosta et al, 2011). With the emergence of executive crimes, people with high status and reputation became exposed. Such crimes were not documented previously due to the previous relationship of crime with persons of low repute and status (Baker, 2004). It found that employees in organisations were stealing from their employer by exploiting unclear procedures. Sutherland mainly focused on the companies rather than individuals.

This, however, is not applicable to only the US. The plague spread across the Altantic to the UK. Individuals in UK were also looking for loopholes and gaps in the financial system for personal gain. According to estimates, these crimes cost around $300-$660 billion in the U.S. For U.K, the figure is £14 billion a year through frauds and forgery. The trend only appears to be rising. Throughout the years, more and more such issue have sprung up. The US has been sharp to acknowledge the danger presented by such crimes. As a result, the US administration has taken measures to tackle the matter. Things have not been the same in U.K. Governments have taken steps but in comparison to the US punishments are fairly inadequate. Criminology in UK is still in its infancy being only 40 years old.

White collar crimes: UK examples

As mentioned here, UK has ...