NCJ Number
120766
Journal
Sociological Quarterly Volume: 30 Issue: 3 Dated: (1989) Pages: 465-479
Date Published
1989
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Although researchers have investigated formal legal reactions to white-collar crime, few data exist on informal reactions to white-collar lawbreakers and how these reactions influence sentencing decisions.
Abstract
Even so, commentators often assert that white-collar offenders receive lenient criminal penalties because judges sympathize with such offenders due to the losses they incur through informal sanctions. In this light, a causal model is used to explore the influence of class position on an important informal sanction--loss of job--and the influence of loss of job on sentence severity. Class position is found to determine the likelihood of loss of job but not that of incarceration. Further, offenders who commit large-scale offenses are less likely to suffer loss of job than those who commit small-scale crimes. Social reactions to white-collar crime are inconsistent, and class position more strongly influences informal, nongovernmental social control than social control through law. 45 references. (Author abstract)