NCJ Number
141129
Date Published
1992
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This paper develops and tests a contextual model of the reactions of local prosecutors toward business crime, a type of white-collar crime.
Abstract
Data for this study came from a national survey of local prosecutors and from archival sources. Using a mailing list provided by the National District Attorneys Association, questionnaires were sent to every district attorney whose jurisdiction was located in a metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the U.S. Census (617). The questionnaire focused on prosecutors' experiences with and attitudes toward corporate crime. On the questionnaire, corporate crime was defined as "a violation of a criminal statute either by a corporate entity or by its executives, employees, or agents acting on behalf of and for the benefit of the corporation, partnership, or other form of business entity." Dimensions of the community context were measured with archival data taken primarily from the County and City Databook, 1988; data encompassed demographic, economic, and official crime data. The dependent variable for the analysis was the level of prosecutorial activity against business crime. Results indicate moderate but not exceedingly strong support for the theoretical predictions. There is some evidence that community economic strength and general level of education influence prosecutorial activity against business crime in the theoretically expected directions. Overall, findings indicate that in large, economically strong, and highly educated communities, local prosecutors tend to have larger staffs and to devote more resources to business crime than their counterparts in smaller, less well off, and less well educated communities. 4 notes, 3 tables, and 37 references