Infractions and violations committed within a corporate institution by individuals belonging to the upper echelons are defined as white-collar crimes. The term coined by sociologist and criminologist, Edwin Sutherland defines crimes committed by “persons of respectability”. Most of these are committed often without consequence, contributed by the fact that technological advancement can reach millions of people, leaving an unprecedented number of victims for which the perpetrator can account.
Differences between blue-collar crime and white-collar crime can be found in the socioeconomic class in which it is placed. Blue collars were worn by those in the lower social class (Proletarians) and white collars were worn by aristocrats (bourgeoisie). The types of crime also differentiate, blue-collar crime is mostly linked to street offences whilst the main topic of white-collar criminality includes the following :
- Fraud
Corporate fraud includes falsification of financial information that describes the process of providing false income reports, balance sheets and fake cash-flow statements to deceive victims. Inaccurate reports can lead to economic loss, penalties, fines and terrible decisions as investors rely on financial statements.
- Embezzlement
A criminal offence that includes theft such as transferring the companies or employers’ income to the embezzler’s account and creating false reasons to hide the action.
- Counterfeiting
This involves creating fake copies of currency or overrule the enemy’s economy with fake banknotes thus decreasing the money’s value.
- Money laundering
- Espionage
Also defined as spying to obtain sensitive information from another company enabling the perpetrator to get ahead of the enemy. For instance, company A can approach company B’s employees and offer large sums of money to provide them with information about their latest product or idea.
- Employer negligence
Perhaps the most overlooked type of white-collar crime involves possible casualty or even death due to employers’ failed efforts to provide a safe working environment for the employees.
The provided examples of white-collar offences are amongst the few that are committed lucratively by those in power. The technological advancements contributed to the fact that these types of offences are disguised as ‘normal’ actions that are committed out of necessity, thus often even considered as not criminal at all. It begs the question of whether or not these violations are taken into serious consideration by authorities. If it is treated with leniency due to the blurred lines between what’s accounted as illegal. According to the book, White-Collar Crime: Accounts of Offending Behaviour by author Janice Goldstraw-White, criminals found that convicted white-collar felons do not see themselves as ‘real criminals’. She held a semi-structured interview with 41 offenders of white-collar crime and found that their actions were fully justified as no direct victims were involved. Thereby, concluding the notion that white-collar offences are not considered as real crimes that cause serious damage. Even by the masses and those in higher power.
This leads to a further support argument by Marxist Louis Althusser that control of the proletarians is through one of the sets of institutions, the Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs). These are institutions that control the proletariats subtly by socialising us into accepting the capitalist doctrine and placing the proletariat in a state of false consciousness ( the proletariat not realising they are being exploited by the upper classes). Such an example can be used to explain why the masses often do not question crimes committed within corporations.
Public opinions on white-collar crime are considered less harmful and violent than street crime, as these offences have obvious victims. Compared to white collar crime where the victims are numerically high but are overshadowed, leading to the perception that white collar crime is ‘’victimless’’ and is just ‘’minor property offences’’.
According to the Crime Survey of England and Wales ( CSEW ), there were 3.2 million fraud offences at the end of September 2023. A 13% decrease in comparison to the September 2022 survey. However, the dark figures of this type of crime are of grave concern. There exist billions of unaccounted victims of such offences. The economic losses from white-collar crime range from $426 billion to $1.7 trillion as of the year 2021, estimating 90% of unreported white-collar crime.
Professor Steve Tombs and Dr David Whyte who published the dissertation ‘Crisis of enforcement: The decriminalisation of death and injury at work’, analysed deaths at work and found that 1,300 died from fatal occupational injuries in 2005-06 in England and Wales. Thus showing how the unreported workplace deaths outweigh the reported 765 homicides. Tombs and Whyte argue that these actions are ‘decriminalised’. The study can be supported by Stephen Box who argued that the concept of crime is constructed or defined by the rich and powerful. The idea of ‘avoidable killing’ is not categorised as murder yet the legal killings, those committed by lower classes are classified as an appropriate requirement of murder.
Richard Garside, director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, said:
The statement supports the question of the reliability of the system’s definition of criminal acts and the punishments for white-collar offenders. Further proposes the question if the legal system is perhaps flawed and instead constructed to support massive corporations to flourish. Laureen Snider, argues that laws are set up to protect the upper classes and capitalistic states refuse to pass laws that may threaten their profit.
In conclusion, the argument that white-collar crime is treated leniently has long been discussed. It is supported by sociological and criminology studies. However, due to the subject being stretched to our current period, laws and regulations have been embedded in the legal system. New legislation in the UK such as the October 2023 Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), is a prevention law to deter bribery, fraud, money laundering and false accounting. However, the question remains and due to the rapid societal changes, reform and the addition of prevention laws for white-collar crimes can further develop.
By Nikath Yr12
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