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Tracking Offenders - White-Collar Crime

NCJ Number
102867
Author(s)
D A Manson
Date Published
1986
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Based on 28,000 white-collar felony cases reported in the 1983 offender-based transactions statistics of eight States and one territory, this report presents statistics on offense and offender characteristics as well as sentences compared to those who committed other crime types.
Abstract

The jurisdictions involved were California, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and the Virgin Islands. The cases reviewed were disposed in 1983. Just over half of the 28,012 white-collar dispositions (6 percent of the total number of dispositions) were for forgery/counterfeiting, 38 percent for fraud, and 8 percent for embezzlement. Of those arrested, 88 percent were prosecuted, compared to 86 percent for property crimes, 82 percent for violent crimes, and 81 percent for public order crimes. Of those prosecuted, 74 percent were convicted, a lower rate than for property crimes (76 percent) but higher than for violent crimes (66 percent) and public order crimes (67 percent). Sixty percent of those convicted were incarcerated, a smaller proportion than violent and property offenders but a higher proportion than public order offenders. White-collar offenders were much less likely to be incarcerated for more than a year than were violent or property offenders. A higher proportion of white-collar offenders were female compared to other offender types. Almost half of the white-collar arrestees were at least 30 years old, older on average than violent and property offenders and about the same age as public order offenders. 6 data tables.