NCJ Number
191989
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 17 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2001 Pages: 308-327
Date Published
November 2001
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study examined the way that individuals rate the seriousness of white-collar crimes in relation to other types of crime.
Abstract
The research replicated the work of Mark Warr to examine perceptions of the seriousness of white-collar offending. The study focused on the concepts of wrongfulness and harmfulness and examined the contention that individuals will rate white-collar crimes as less serious than more common street crimes. The research also considered the belief that individuals will display some consensus in the way in which they rank white-collar crimes, with slight variations for offenses with little or no perceived harm. The research received responses from 268 of 300 college students who received questionnaires containing 23 items for rating. The questionnaire asked each participant to rate the seriousness, wrongfulness, and harmfulness of eight white-collar offenses, six property offenses, and seven violent offenses. Results revealed that the average perceptions of seriousness, wrongfulness, and harmfulness of white-collar crimes were between property and violent crimes. Possible explanations for this result include the low average age of the participants and a shared awareness of the effect of white-collar crimes on society. Results also supported the use of wrongfulness and harmfulness as measures of crime seriousness and indicated that both variables are significant predictors of crime seriousness. The analysis concluded that marked differences exist in the ways that individuals regard white-collar offenses and other offenses and that further research with participants more representative of the general population should take place. Tables and 35 references (Author abstract modified)