NCJ Number
199802
Date Published
2000
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This document discusses profit-driven crime and possible criminal justice changes to respond to changing economic crime.
Abstract
Crimes motivated by profit are different from those driven by passion, peer pressure, or simple perversity of human nature. The lure of profit is presumed rational and profit-driven events seem predictable. It is assumed that the offender is a cost-benefit calculator that weighs the probable consequences against the possible gain. The main distinctions between other crimes and economic crime are social class and the potential for rehabilitation of the offender. Profit-motivated crimes can be classified into several distinct economic categories: predatory offenses, market-based offenses, and commercial offenses. Predatory offenses include crimes of a predatory nature, such as purse snatching and extortion. Market-based crimes include the production of illegal goods and services, and so-called victimless crimes. Commercial crimes include crimes whose basic intents are to reduce costs, such as illegal dumping of toxic waste, and to increase revenues, such as falsifying data on a contract to pad a bill. A fourth more nebulous category could be social crime, where accidental or unpredictable externalities lead to anti-social consequences. When assessing the overall economic effects of criminal acts, it is necessary to distinguish between the immediate impact of the act at the micro level, and the consequences of increased expenditure for policing, prosecution, and correction at the macro level. Secondary offenses, such as violence, money laundering, and corruption, have further important implications. The three types of crimes imply different types of responsibilities for the criminal justice system. These responsibilities range from restoring misappropriated property to the proper owner to finding and forfeiting illegal profits. Alternative approaches to increase compliance are general prevention, specific deterrence, and detection and prosecution. The real challenge is in understanding the “twilight zone” where crime and business interact, often to mutual benefit. In these cases, regulatory and alternative instruments may be better suited than traditional criminal justice approaches. 46 footnotes