...Final Paper Nick Beech Fort Hays State University A contemporary analysis of the term “white collar crime” is as pertinacious as various concepts within the realm of the Criminal Justice System. According to fbi.gov, there are a host of crimes ranging from health care fraud to computer crime amassed under the umbrella of white collar crime. In addition, the term is widely utilized by both criminologists and sociologists alike, incorporating a mass of non-violent behaviors related to pecuniary fraud. Beyond the fundamental description, currently there is a pervasive inaptness and disciplinary criticism of the definition and application of white collar crime. An assortment of criminologists with the focal point being on state and federal law, contend that many of the behaviors society believes to be white collar crimes are in fact not crimes at all. Short of a statute to delineate whether specific conduct is labeled as a criminal violation of law, behaviors tend to be categorized by individual standards rather than in the context. An individual evaluation of what is or is not deviant allows for a subjective approach that softens the scientific objectivity of criminology (Tappan 1977). Furthermore, the Criminal Justice system was assembled upon the foundation of individual culpability. This presents difficulties when criminal acts involve cooperative intricacies. The penalty phase in regards to the corporate criminal action was not intended to impose sanctions against groups...
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...Social Theories of Crime Linda Robuck AIU Online Abstract This text seeks to make more understandable and explain what social theories are all about, using four different social theories. The beginning of this text will offer a general description or definition of not only what exactly social theories are, but also a description or definition for each of the four theories mentioned earlier. For each of the theories, information that will be included involves a description of each theory, a short history of each theory which will include information with respect to when the theory was proposed, who the relevant theorist or theorists associated with each theory were, strengths of each theory which explains criminal behavior, why each theory was important at the time of its proposal, weaknesses of each theory which explain criminal behavior, and particular examples that will correspond with each of the four theories being discussed. A theoretical application involving an individual who has recently been convicted of a crime will be provided. Along with information regarding the individual and their criminal deviance particular to them, a discussion will ensue in regard to which of the four theories would be most relevant in regard to further explanation of the deviant actions committed by the individual. Social Theories of Crime Introduction In the annals of the early nineteenth century, criminology can find its beginnings in a newly urbanized...
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...Running Head: EXPLAINING WHITE COLLAR CRIME White Collar Crime Explanation Kaplan University Deborah Llamas CJ501P-01N Professor Tom DiPaola August 14, 2013 Bernard Madoff, appeared to be a cordial man with an alluring personality, however, despite his friendly demeanor Madoff had another side to him that was not as friendly and compassionate, he was considered to be withdrawn, cold, and unfriendly (Cresswell, & Thomas, 2009). Accordance to the video Maddoff was very rarely seen intermingling with the victims of whom he swindled millions of dollars, by means of hiring, Michael Bienes, and Frank Avellino, whom were responsible for bringing in clients with the promise of returns of potentially, 15% to 20% (Bienes, 2009). I. Maddoff’s Behavior Explained. Accordance to the video it is obvious that Bernie Maddoff considered a psychopath defined in the following manner; psychopaths do not learn from experience, have no inclination of responsibility, do not obtain the means of controlling their dispositions, emotionally immature, and unable to develop meaningful relationships. Similarly, Madoff clearly obtained anti-social personality social disorder, he had the ability to manipulate people without having any feelings of guilt or remorse for his actions, he never considered the fact that the people he cheated out of their hard earned money. He never considered that his victims had their rights, appeared to be amiable yet was aggressive...
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...the reaction to the act that makes something deviant.” This coincides with the symbolic interactionist view. In some cases, an individual need not do anything to be labeled a deviant. He or she may be falsely accused or discredited because of a birth defect, race, or disease. Even crime is relative when interpreting the deviance of the actor. Deviance is based on adherence to and violation of norms. Human groups need norms to exist. By making behavior predictable, norms make social life possible. Consequently, all human groups develop a system of social control, which involves formal and informal means of enforcing norms. Those who violate these norms face the danger of being labeled “deviant.” Violators can expect to experience negative sanctions for the violation of norms. Members of society who conform to societal norms, especially those who go above and beyond what is commonly expected, receive positive sanctions. In some societies, such as the Amish, shaming is a common negative sanction that acts strongly as a means of social control, minimizing deviance. Biologists, psychologists, and sociologists have different perspectives on why people violate norms. Biological explanations focus on genetic predispositions, psychologists concentrate on abnormalities within the individual (commonly known as personality disorders), and sociologists look at social factors outside the individual. Symbolic interactionists interpret deviance through the following social...
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...itself, but the reaction to the act that makes something deviant.” This coincides with the symbolic interactionist view. In some cases, an individual need not do anything to be labeled a deviant. He or she may be falsely accused or discredited because of a birth defect, race, or disease. Even crime is relative when interpreting the deviance of the actor. Deviance is based on adherence to and violation of norms. Human groups need norms to exist. By making behavior predictable, norms make social life possible. Consequently, all human groups develop a system of social control, which involves formal and informal means of enforcing norms. Those who violate these norms face the danger of being labeled “deviant.” Violators can expect to experience negative sanctions for the violation of norms. Members of society who conform to societal norms, especially those who go above and beyond what is commonly expected, receive positive sanctions. In some societies, such as the Amish, shaming is a common negative sanction that acts strongly as a means of social control, minimizing deviance. Biologists, psychologists, and sociologists have different perspectives on why people violate norms. Biological explanations focus on genetic predispositions, psychologists concentrate on abnormalities within the individual (commonly known as personality disorders), and sociologists look at social factors outside the individual. Symbolic interactionists interpret deviance through the following social theories: differential...
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...Every society has rules to go by and laws that must not be broken and along with that is the criminal justice that even gives the criminal rights. Criminals in the United States are to be given their rights and not to have harm to them in any way under the justice system as they may be freed from their prosecution and their case be acquitted if found in their favor if an act of unjust or immoral conduct has been found. Law enforcement professionals must execute justice by upholding the law in an ethical and constitutional manner. “The United States Department of Justice seeks to prevent or resolve community conflicts and tensions arising from actions, policies, and practices perceived to be discriminatory on the basis of race, color, or national origin (CRS National Office).” Every officer must follow and obey the law in and out of vested uniform. The Constitution of the United States are most relevant to the ethical standards of law enforcement professionals by the prohibitions against warrantless search and seizure are parts of the United States Constitution which are relevant to the ethical standards of law enforcement. Law enforcement professionals ensure that they uphold the Constitution by following Law Enforcement Oath of Honor this is recommended as by the International Association of Chiefs of Police as symbolic statement of commitment to ethical behavior: “On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character, or the public trust. I will...
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...criminals who committed the same type of crimes did so for similar reasons. While I still agree that there is a correlation, through the semester I have changed my view a bit. There are many different theories that can explain the possibilities of why two criminals who have committed the same crime have done so. There isn’t one theory that can explain the causation of any particular crime, but instead each crime and each criminal differs on a case by case basis. Without realizing it I believed heavily in the strain theory as the best explanation for the causation of crime, mainly the belief that people in poverty would overlook the consequences in order to attain what others in their community have. Now I see this was an extremely narrow view point and believe each crime and each criminal can be explained through a diverse and often multiple groups of theories. I underestimated the impact of biological issues that contribute to crime explained by trait theorists. They argue the individual is not the only one responsible for crime in society, but that we must look at their environment, neighborhood, economic opportunities, and family life. The focus is on how different biological factors like high testosterone levels and a person’s diet combined with their environment effects crime (Siegel, 2000). I would have agreed that higher testosterone levels could make someone more aggressive therefor more likely to commit antagonistic crimes, but I would have never believed that...
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...the United States is multifaceted and is best understood when dissected into individual parts. There are the components of the criminal justice system, classifications for crime, due process, types of punishment and the process of the criminal justice system, all of which only scratch the surface. When studying and working in the criminal justice field it is important to remember that without each part of this system many of the freedoms and rights citizens take for granted every day could not be enforced. Even more important to remember, as annoying as it is sometimes, no law is too infinitesimal to be enforced because without even the smallest law, the society so many Americans love and cherish would not function. Components of the Criminal Justice System Though the criminal justice is complex, when broken down into its individual components is easily dissected and explained. The major components of the criminal justice system are the police, the criminal courts and corrections (Schmalleger, 2008). These components work together to provide safety for the community as well as punishment and rehabilitation for criminal offenders (Schmalleger, 2008). The first component of the criminal justice system is the police. The police enforce the law, investigate crimes, apprehend criminals, reduce and prevent crime, maintain public order, ensure community safety, provide emergency community services and protect the basic rights and freedoms of United States citizens (Schmalleger, 2008)...
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...CHAPTER 7 DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL Deviance 171 Social Policy and Social Control: Illicit Drug Use in Canada and Worldwide 193 What Is Deviance? 171 Explaining Deviance 175 Social Control 182 Conformity and Obedience 182 Informal and Formal Social Control Law and Society 186 Crime 185 187 Types of Crime 188 Crime Statistics 190 The Issue 193 The Setting 193 Sociological Insights 193 Policy Initiatives 193 Boxes RESEARCH IN ACTION: Street Kids 183 sOCIOLOGY IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY: Singapore: A Nation of Campaigns 186 TAKING SOCIOLOGY TO WORK: Holly Johnson, Chief of Research, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada 192 Cigarette smoking has become stigmatized in Canada. This newspaper advertisement, sponsored by Health Canada, reverses the typical advertising strategy of equating smoking with sexiness. 169 H eidi Fleiss was in her late twenties when she was arrested for operating a call girl service. At the time, her pediatrician father had reacted flippantly, “I guess I didn’t do such a good job on Heidi after all.” Later, he would be convicted of conspiring to hide profits from his daughter’s call girl ring. Fleiss had dropped out of school when she was sixteen and established a liaison with a playboyfinancier who gave her a Rolls-Royce for her twenty-first birthday. In her early twenties, Fleiss interned in the world of prostitution by working for Madame Alex (Elizabeth Adams)...
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...Understanding white collar crime Hazel Croall Open University Press Buckingham · Philadelphia Open University Press Celtic Court 22 Ballmoor Buckingham MK18 1XW email: enquiries@openup.co.uk world wide web: www.openup.co.uk and 325 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA First Published 2001 Copyright © Hazel Croall, 2001 All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1P 0LP. A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 335 20427 9 (pb) 0 335 20428 7 (hb) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Croall, Hazel, 1947– Understanding white collar crime / Hazel Croall. p. cm. — (Crime and justice) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–335–20428–7 — ISBN 0–335–20427–9 (pbk.) 1. White collar crimes. I. Title. II. Crime and justice (Buckingham, England) HV6768 .C755 2001 364.16´8 — dc21 00–050174 Typeset by Type Study, Scarborough Printed in Great Britain by Biddles Limited, Guildford and Kings Lynn chapter ...
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...TITLE: outline and assess sociological explanations for gender difference in patterns of crime. What is the relationship between crime and masculinity? Crime can be described as an act that harmful to an individual as well as the society; such acts are against and punishable by the law. While deviance can be described as acting against social norms, for example a boy wearing a skirt would be out of place in the society The sex role theory states that, when young males and females are younger they socialise in different ways, resulting in young males being more reckless and neglectful. There are several sociologist and different versions of the sex theory. Edwin Sutherland stated that the gender difference when it comes to socialisation is very obvious. Girls are treated with more supervision and control, while boys are treated not as strict as the girls and are emboldened to take more risk to be tough, which makes boys more inclined and a higher tendency of committing crimes. Talcott parsons believes that there are clear gender roles in a nuclear family, where the father performs the instrumental role which portrays him as a leader and provider, while the mother performs the expressive role of providing emotional support and talking of the children. For girls, because their female role model who is their mother is always available unlike for boys who don’t not have as much access to the male figure in their lives (the father) because traditionally the father would be at work...
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...Theories of Crime Causation: Unit 3 Individual Project Jimmie O'Neal AIU Online Theories of Crime Causation: Unit 3 Individual Project There are a few different sociological theories of crime that experts have been debating over the course of time. A few of these theories include: the Social Control Theory, the Strain Theory, the Differential Association Theory, and the Neutralization Theory. All of these theories are different looks on the reasons that criminals make the decisions that they do to commit crimes. The first theory to look at is the Social Control Theory. This theory provides an explanation for how behavior conforms to that which is generally accepted in society. For social control theory, the underlying view of human nature includes the conception of free will, thereby giving offenders the capacity of choice and responsibility for their behaviors (Leonard and Morris). This theory aligns itself more with the classical philosophy. The basic principle states that almost all criminals recognize that laws should be followed, but society has yet to stop the crime and deviance that seems to be a growing problem in the world today. One strength to this theory is that it offers an explanation that the offenders often know what they are doing and that they recognize that it is wrong. As such, they should be held accountable for whatever crime that they have committed, by the court system. The weakness to this is that it seems to never be implemented. It is casually...
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...Social Structure & Social Interaction, Groups, Deviance, Poverty and Social Class Both Sides Microsociology emphasis is placed on social interaction- rules, codes, survival strategies, relationships, face to face contact. 1/54 Study: Speller Learn Test Play Games: Scatter Space Race All 54 terms PrintExportCopyCombine Order by Terms Definitions Microsociology emphasis is placed on social interaction- rules, codes, survival strategies, relationships, face to face contact. Location in Social Structure People's location in the social structure accounts for differences in their behavior & attitudes Ascribed Status involuntary status; a status you inherit o Class of parents, gender, sex, ethnicity, race Achieved Status voluntary status; a status you earn o Student, criminal, doctor, friend Society people who share culture & territory Hunting & Gathering Societies simplest form of society, few social divisions, few people, nomadic, most egalitarian [treat all as equals, no one is rich or poor], society with most leisure time. Role Conflict When what is expected of us in one role is incompatible with what is expected in another role. Role Strain When the same role presents inherent conflict- one role Thomas Theorem If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences- think of people as less than and they will be treated as such. Group members of a group think of themselves as belonging together, they interact with...
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...SUMMARY OF VIDEO Clifford Holt Boggess committed two major crimes. His actions can be categorized as a double geronticide, also known as eldercide, as he murdered two elderly men. Boggess’ crimes against persons were also felony murders because of the robbery that took place as well. Both murders involved a certain degree of planning prior to the kill, classifying them as premeditated crimes; however he did not personally know his victims, making both incidences stranger homicides. A 21-year old white male, Clifford Boggess was on trial for two murders. From the video, I gathered that his family was poor, as his crimes were committed because of financial need. Boggess was unmarried, but had a girlfriend at the time by the name of Phoebe Boles. He had a high school diploma and no college experience. Boggess grew up a religious boy as an avid churchgoer and became extremely in-tune with his religion while on death row, practicing Protestantism before converting to Catholicism prior to execution. However, Clifford Boggess had many Christian friends he consulted with. Boggess was the youngest of 10 children, given up for adoption at a very young age, soon to move in with his foster father’s parents in Texas. These sociodemographic characteristics of the offender will be helpful in further analyzing his felonies. Sociodemographic characteristics of the victims are equally important in understanding these crimes. The primary victims of these murders were two elderly men, Frank...
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...to study crime and criminal behavior , and why do people engage in this area of study ? There are a variety of answers of these questions, built around many kinds of concerns , like the anxiety, anger , and fear that are common responses to crime of the future crimes . former victims of crimes may contribute of showing the importance of studying criminology by, transferring them experience and feeling of anxiety, anger, and fear which Generated from crimes to other persons . Then the need to study criminology become at the forefront of priorities , to predict and control crime; the hope of preventing crime through individual and social reform the wish to understand and explain crime and societal reactions to it; and the simple desire to learn more about crime and what it can tell us about our society . Criminologists disagree, sometimes violently, about which of these kinds of concerns are most legitimate and important . So Criminology was the composite result of the thinking and endeavors of many people, and them desire to the understanding the individual behavior and deviation and the structuring of the social order . The study of crime has engaged the interest of many academic disciplines. Building on centuries of philosophical debate, systematic attempts to explain crime emerged from the developing biological and social sciences in the late nineteenth century. Anthropologists, statisticians, and economists have contributed to the analysis of crime, but the...
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