NCJ Number
87291
Date Published
1981
Length
138 pages
Annotation
A conference on combatting white-collar crime in Sweden, particularly in the forms of tax evasion, tax fraud, and fraudulent bankruptcy, brought together persons from many disciplines: law enforcement, criminal justice research, law, the tax authority and the corporate sector.
Abstract
The purpose was to uncover some of the broad issues involved in enforcing controls against white-collar crime and to consider official and corporate problems with existing legislation. A representative from the police board explained the developing police strategy for combatting white-collar crime, based on understanding the differences between white-collar and conventional crime as they affect detection and investigation. Moral and philosophical problems involved in tightening controls to effect better enforcement were touched on, as were courts' problems in carrying out legislation designed to deter and punish white-collar crime. Representatives from the tax authority discussed the topical issue of merging personal data from several data banks maintained by Government agencies as a means of detecting tax fraud. Corporate controls to deter and detect white-collar crime were addressed by two speakers who argued that the business community is not against controls per se and even invites the protection afforded lawabiding companies who might suffer from a competitive standpoint when other companies reduce prices through illegal or quasi-legal business practices. The business community, however, wants a limited number of effective measures rather than a proliferation of poorly thought out regulations that are difficult to interpret and comply with. Final debates dealt with control levels and with economic crime controls being developed in other European countries.