Introduction
Within law and society, “crime” refers to deeds or inactions punishable by the state (Kawasaki, 2019). These behaviors upset the social order because they are perceived as offenses against the community. Crimes can involve anything from complex financial fraud to acts of physical assault. Though most of the delinquencies that come to mind when people think of crime are obvious and violent crimes like murder or robbery, there is a substantial amount of less obvious but detrimental criminalities. This covers a range of dishonesty and transgression that may not be instantly obvious but seriously endangers society’s peace and harmony. Numerous criminal behaviors include but are not limited to white-collar and corporate crime, which affect society negatively (Lord & van Wingerde, 2019). In this regard, it is worthwhile to explore the said criminal behavior, scrutinizing their summary, theories addressing it, and policies to combat it.
Summary of the Criminal Behavior
Corporate crime refers to transgressions carried out by company officials who engage in unlawful activity for the benefit of the business, often to harm society (Kawasaki, 2019). It is considered more harmful than other street crimes combined in terms of fatalities, injuries, and monetary losses. Corporate crime encompasses acts such as environmental crimes. Notable instances include the tax fraud case of Credit Suisse and the corporate fraud of Enron. On the other hand, white-collar crime usually entails workers causing harm to specific companies, as demonstrated by instances such as the huge Ponzi scheme run by Bernard Madoff (Kawasaki, 2019). There are differences even if the names are occasionally used synonymously. White-collar crimes frequently result in financial harm to individuals working for the company since they can take longer to investigate and punish.
Criminological Theories Addressing Criminal Behavior
Theories of criminal justice that deal with corporate and white-collar crime are multifaceted. According to the strain theory, people commit white-collar crimes because they cannot achieve societal norms and objectives through legal means (Kawasaki, 2019). Control theory highlights the importance of insufficient social constraint and proposes that people with limited ties to traditional institutions might commit white-collar crimes. According to the differential association theory, people pick up criminal behavior by hanging out with people who encourage illegal activity. The convergence of motivated criminals, appropriate targets, and the lack of capable guardianship in white-collar crime facilitation are highlighted by routine activity theory (Lord & van Wingerde, 2019). Labeling theory explores how people’s adoption of criminal identities is influenced by how society responds to transgression. The theory sheds light on how society constructs these criminal identities and provides insight into how criminological frameworks understand and interpret the complexity of corporate and white-collar criminal behavior.
Policies That Are in Place to Combat the Criminal Behavior
Law enforcement agencies, regulatory frameworks, and legal processes are some policies employed to counteract corporate and white-collar criminal conduct. Régimes levy harsher financial protocols, comprising the Dodd-Frank Act and Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to upsurge corporate responsibility and transparency (Kawasaki, 2019). Specialized agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigate and punish white-collar crime. Programs for protecting whistleblowers enable people to come forward with reports of misconduct, which promotes early identification (Lord & van Wingerde, 2019). Financial crimes are partly prevented by Knowing Your Customer (KYC) requirements and anti-money laundering laws. Lord and van Wingerde (2019) argued that organizations use internal controls, ethical training programs, and corporate governance principles to promote ethical behavior. Global financial crimes are addressed by cooperative multinational initiatives such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). These laws are meant to prevent identity and penalize corporate and white-collar crime.
Conclusion
The exploration of white-collar and corporate crime demonstrates their enormous impact on society. Corporate crime, committed by company officials for their gain, seriously undermines society, as seen by the Enron and Credit Suisse scandals. Criminological ideas such as routine activity theory and strain theory have an impact on white-collar crime, which frequently results in financial harm to persons working for organizations. Tight financial restrictions, specialized investigative agencies, whistleblower protection, and international cooperation are all part of the policies to prevent these crimes. Maintaining social order, transparency, and ethical behavior in corporate and personal worlds depends on comprehending and resolving these complicated criminal behaviors.
References
Kawasaki, T. (2019). Review of Comparative Studies on White‐Collar and Corporate Crime. The Handbook of White‐Collar Crime, 437-447. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118775004.ch27
Lord, N., & van Wingerde, K. (2019). Preventing and Intervening in White‐Collar Crimes: The Role of Law Enforcement. The Handbook of White‐Collar Crime, 246-261. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118775004.ch16
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