NCJ Number
64450
Date Published
1978
Length
25 pages
Annotation
THE SCARCITY OF SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF THE CONTEMPORARY PHENOMENON OF BUSINESS CRIME IS REGRETTABLE, SINCE THE FREQUENCY OF THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR AND THE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN TRYING TO CONTROL IT ARE INCREASING.
Abstract
BUSINESS CRIME IS CHARACTERIZED BY BEING HIGHLY ORGANIZED, EXTREMELY LUCRATIVE AND COMMITTED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO DO NOT PERCEIVE THEMSELVES AS CRIMINALS. THIS TYPE OF DEVIANT, OR ANTISOCIAL, BEHAVIOR IS HARD TO RESEARCH ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF ITS SECRETIVE NATURE, THE LACK OF INFORMATION, THE SCARCITY OF SYSTEMATICALLY COMPILED DATA, THE VAGUENESS OF JURIDICAL DEFINITIONS, THE UNDETECTABLE AND UNIDENTIFIABLE NATURE OF THE OFFENDERS, AND THE RESEARCHER'S POLITICAL BIAS WHICH OFTEN CLOUDS THE OBJECTIVITY OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY. MOREOVER, THE OBVIOUS CONNECTIONS OF THIS PHENOMENON WITH GLOBAL SOCIAL PROBLEMS PROMOTES MISLEADING GENERALIZATIONS. YET THE STAGGERING FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL COSTS OF BUSINESS CRIMES ARE INDICATED BY THE AVAILABLE ESTIMATES FOR THE U.S., CANADA, FRANCE, BELGIUM AND WEST GERMANY, AND ADVERSE EFFECTS ARE FELT EVEN MORE DISASTROUSLY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. HAVING POSTULATED THE INTRINSICALLY CRIMINAL NATURE OF THIS TYPE OF CONDUCT, CRIMINOLOGISTS HAVE SOUGHT UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTABLE CRITERIA FOR DEFINING THE BUSINESS CRIMINALS, WHO ARE GENERALLY FOUND TO BE UPPER ECHELON EXECUTIVES, ALTHOUGH SOME RESEARCHERS HAVE TRIED TO INCLUDE NOT ONLY MID ECHELON MANAGEMENT, BUT EVEN BLUE-COLLAR WORKERS BY APPLYING THE CRITERION OF 'OCCUPATIONAL' CRIME. THE TYPICALLY HIGH SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND GOOD SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF BUSINESS CRIMINALS IS, HOWEVER, AGREED UPON BY MOST CRIMINOLOGISTS IN CONTRAST TO OTHER PROFESSIONAL CRIMINALS, WHO ARE USUALLY SOCIAL MISFITS. LUST FOR POWER, IRASCIBILITY, AGGRESSION, STRONG (ALTHOUGH REPRESSED) EMOTIONALISM, AND HIDDEN INFERIORITY COMPLEXES MAY TYPIFY BUSINESS CRIMINALS, BUT THEIR REASONS FOR TURNING TO CRIME ARE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO DISCOVER; SOME ETIOLOGICAL CAUSES APPEAR TO BE BUSINESS REVERSES AND LOSSES WHICH NECESSITATE QUICK MEANS FOR AVOIDING FINANCIAL RUIN, OR, ON THE OTHER HAND, FINANCIAL SUCCESS WHICH PROMOTES A DESIRE FOR EVEN MORE FINANCIAL SUCCESS. SINCE BUSINESS CRIMINALS CHIEFLY VICTIMIZE GULLIBLE, GREEDY SEEKERS FOR QUICK AND EFFORTLESS WEALTH, OR ELSE LARGE, ANONYMOUS GROUPS, THE PUBLIC AT LARGE SELDOM FEELS PITY FOR THE VICTIMS, WHILE THE SOCIAL PROMINENCE OF BUSINESS CRIMINALS STIFLES CRITICISM. THIS TOLERANCE IS REFLECTED IN THE COURT DISPOSITIONS OF BUSINESS CRIMES, WHICH SELDOM GO BEYOND A FINE, OR CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS. --IN SPANISH. (LGR)