NCJ Number
71090
Date Published
1980
Length
90 pages
Annotation
This two-part paper critically reviews conceptual themes in white-collar crime literature, proposes additional definitional distinctions, and suggests a research agenda.
Abstract
The term 'White-Collar crime' does not clearly identify the offenses or types of offenders, the social location of deviant behavior, status of the actor, modus operandi of the behavior, or the social relationship of victim and offender. More traditional definitions have also ignored the opportunities for illegality created by organizations which (1) serve wealthy and relatively accessible victims, (2) use disembodied transactions, (3) create and allocate opportunities and resources, (4) possess means to hide illegalities, and (5) themselves generate the norms capable of being broken. The alternative label 'White-Collar offenses' or 'illegalities' should be adopted to denote activities which violate the proscriptions or fail to observe the prescriptions of law. A research agenda should include the nature of white-collar illegality, forms and patterns of violative activity, and social location and characteristics of offenders. Additional topics might include societal values regarding this type of illegality, the development of norms proscribing white-collar offenses, enforcement of these norms, the disposition and sanctioning of illegal behavior, and priority considerations and trade-offs in future research design. An extensive bibliography of approximately 320 references, tabular data, and footnotes are included.