NCJ Number
137863
Date Published
1993
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes a study of local prosecutors' work against corporate crime, with attention to the factors that influence the nature and extent of such work.
Abstract
For this study 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." The first component of the study was a mail survey of 632 district attorneys with jurisdictions located in or near urban areas. Completed questionnaires were received from 419 districts, a response rate of 66 percent. The survey data were then merged with economic, social, and official crime data for each jurisdiction. The second component of the study involved case studies in four jurisdictions: Cook County, Ill.; Los Angeles County, Calif.; Dade County, Fla.; and Nassau County, N.Y. In each jurisdiction, prosecutors, regulatory officials, and representatives of various law enforcement agencies were interviewed on their views of corporate crime and their interactions with other law enforcement agencies. The study results address trends in corporate crime prosecutions, their prevalence, variation in such prosecutions among jurisdictions, the discovery of corporate offenses, networking and special units, and constraints on prosecutorial discretion. A principal finding was that in dealing with corporate offenders, local prosecutors are often faced with corporate defendants with vast financial resources that can fund legal representation prepared to construct imposing legal obstacles for prosecutors to overcome. Suggestions are offered for how prosecutors may consolidate their resources. 5 tables and 5 notes