NCJ Number
97273
Journal
Journal of Offender Counseling, Services and Rehabilitation Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1985) Pages: 71-94
Date Published
1985
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses the threat of corporate crime, why the criminal justice system has failed to counter it, and a proposed restitutionary approach to corporate crime.
Abstract
Corporate crimes are categorized, and the socioeconomic threats they pose are considered. Corporate crime is said to decrease the value of public securities by indirectly straining a public authority's ability to pay interest on its debts; billions of dollars are lost annually in consumer-related frauds, antitrust practices, restraint of trade practices, and environmental offenses. Reasons why traditional sanctions for lawbreaking, with the exception of fines, fail to deter white-collar criminals are presented, and the inappropriateness of ordinary criminal procedure dealing with such criminals is discussed. The need for corporations and their representatives to be subject to criminal law is noted. The recommended approach to corporate crime is the restructuring of the criminal justice system to implement restitutionary goals and values. Several elements from which both a model court and a model penal system must derive if they are to remain true to restitutionary goals are analyzed. Finally, the nature of the restitutionary court is described, and ways to determine the amount of a restitutionary award are suggested. Twenty references are listed.