White collar crimes
Question 1
White collar crime was defined by Sutherland Edwin as the crime that is committed by a person who is highly respected and ranks highly in the social status during their course of occupation. The definition does not specify what amounts to white collar crimes but indicates that they are committed in the course of occupation. Persons who commit white collar crimes are very difficult to understand. This is because the financial backgrounds of individuals do not allow them to be in that fate. However, they share similar characteristics of being pathological liars, secretive and an inflated sense of self worthy. They also do not readily accept responsibility for their actions. They are charming people who like saying what people want to hear.
It is very difficult to explain why offenders commit white collar crimes given their positions of honor and financial backgrounds. The rational choice theory suggests that they weigh of the outcome of committing the crime and the results of failing to commit the crime. If the positive effects outweigh the negative ones, then they go on and commit the crime. Most individuals are driven by the financial incentives.
The distinction between persons who commit white collar crimes appears to be waning. However, the remarkable difference between the two is that, white collar crimes are non violent in nature and the perpetrator uses his position to benefit financially from the institution he/she works for
Question 2
White collar crime affects the society by the way it damages the morality of the community. As people see others prospering from such crimes, they are encouraged to partake of the same also with the hope of succeeding. Such crimes also have adverse effects on the society since they are committed by people who are supposed to be models. Crimes like fraud greatly affect the economy of the victims as they may never recover their loss. This is due to the...