Crime: The amount and disparity of sentencing – A comparison of corporate and occupational white collar criminals

Research carried out previously, aimed at examining differences in the length of the sentencing and type of offence, have typically compared white collar and street criminality. The main aim of the current study is to examine the differences in sentence length for white collar occupational and corporate offenders from street crime offenses and to identify which factors eventually could explain such differences. The crime amount was smaller in occupational convictions despite the fact that the average crime amount was significantly less in this group compared to the crime amount among corporate criminals. Socioeconomic status and company size were not found to be associated with the length of the sentence. We discuss whether the difference in length of the sentence could be explained by the fact that occupational crime is committed for the criminals' own purposes or enrichment, while this is often not the case among corporate criminals.     

White collar crime and the definitional quagmire: A provisional solution

More than virtually any other realm of criminological scholarship, white collar crime study is plagued by unresolved definitional, conceptual, and typological issues. The present confused and contradictory invocations of the core terminology pertaining to white collar crime introduce a significant element of incoherence into the field. In this paper the seminal origins of the concept of white collar crime, in the work of E. A. Ross and E. H. Sutherland, are explored. The principal elements of subsequent efforts to define white collar crime are identified. It is claimed that a war of white collar criminologists' has emerged, principally pitting critical white collar criminologists against positivist white collar criminologists. Some of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the principal constituencies in this definitional war are examined. The paper concludes with the argument that the concept of white collar crime is defined on three different levels—presentational, typological, and operational —and that any definition of white collar crime is meaningful only in relation to its stated purpose.     

Strategic versus emergent crime groups: the case of Vietnamese cannabis cultivation in the Netherlands

This article addresses the nature and development of the Vietnamese involvement in cannabis cultivation in the Netherlands. The findings are based on empirical data collected from national police registrations, case studies and in-depth interviews with over 30 Dutch and international respondents. The authors describe the background characteristics of Vietnamese cannabis farmers, the structure of the predominantly mono-ethnic Vietnamese criminal groups and the international context. A situational approach to organised crime is applied to illustrate the ‘emergent’ character of the Vietnamese crime groups as opposed to a ‘strategic’ context of organised crime. The Vietnamese supervisors in the Netherlands have legal citizenship and often have ‘careers’ in cannabis-related crimes. It would appear that for a Vietnamese gardener or farmer, the path into cannabis cultivation is linked to financial debt. Besides situational factors, group characteristics, such as the migrant community, seem important in understanding the Vietnamese involvement in the Dutch cannabis market.     

WHITE COLLAR AND ECONOMIC CRIME: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

In recent years increased attention has been paid by various international forums to the dangerous upsurge in internationally oriented white collar and economic criminality. At the same time, organs like the United Nations or the Council of Europe are attempting to effectively deal with economic crime occurring on national levels. The author traces the development of international efforts in the field by focusing on the relevant United Nations resolutions and agreements, as well as on documents adopted by the Council of Europe. It is demonstrated that the use of terminology which is not substantially different from theories of white collar crime developed on national levels, as well as indirect references to Sutherland's ideas, constitute the conceptual link between the international instruments dealing with white collar crime (including specific United Nations agreements and codes, and the work undertaken by the Council of Europe), and traditional, nationally-oriented theories. This similarity has far-reaching practical implications: except for purely international white collar crimes, many of which are of very recent origin, white collar crime theory can be applied in combating international crime occurring within national boundaries, the seriousness of which is evident from an examination of the relevant documents. The author advances a theory of international white collar crime and suggests that its increase necessitates the adoption of new theoretical horizons and new practical methods for dealing with this dangerous form of law-breaking which defies traditional notions of “crime” and “criminal”.     

The system's rigged — or is it?

From the beginning of the Seventies until almost the end of the Eighties, the Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands concentrated a major part of its resources on combatting white collar and corporate crime. This effort climaxes in a number of spectacular fraud trials, involving in one case the directors of a large commercial bank, in another high-ranking public officials. Almost all were acquitted. As dramatically as interest in white collar and corporate crime had increased, so too did it decline at the end of the Eighties, until by now public interest in fraud is primarily concerned with social security frauds at one end of the scale, and money laundering by organised crime at the other. This article examines the rise and fall of the fraud-issue in Holland, the parts played by the Public Prosecution Service and the media, and the structural (economic and social) limitations to the criminalisation of white collar and corporate behaviour.     

North American Organised Crime

The Italian-American mafia is one of the most enduring images of organised crime, but separating fictional images of organised crime from the real thing has not been easy. Overall, organised crime is a continuing criminal enterprise that rationally works to profit from illicit activities that are often in great public demand. Its continuing existence is maintained through the use of force, threats, monopoly control, and/or the corruption of public officials. The past 20 years have seen a decline in the influence of Italian-American organised crime in the US, but this has been offset by the rise of other forms of organised crime, not least groups from the former USSR. Meanwhile, the Canadian underworld is dominated by Asian groups, East European groups, Italian groups, and outlaw motorcycle gangs. The major organised crime groups in Mexico are extended networks composed of Mexican nationals living in Mexico, Mexican-Americans, and Mexican immigrants living in the United States, operating as competing networks in the illicit drug business from supply, to transit, to destination and buyers.     

Organised Crime in East Central Europe: The Czech Republic,Hungary and Poland

Recent developments in East Central Europe have made countries in the region increasingly attractive to organised crime. The development of organised crime in ECE is seen as a significant problem with global implications. The roots of organised crime in ECE date back to the 1970s, but conditions after the revolutions of 1989 led to an influx of foreign-based gangs into the region. This has resulted in the emergence of organised crime that is predominantly international in character. Gangs have established strategic alliances to organise operations spanning three continents. The countries of ECE have been fighting back against organised crime and significant advances have been made. Continued criminal operations through the region, however, are perceived as a threat on a global scale. The accession of the Czech republic, Hungary and Poland into the EU in May 2004 will provide a clear litmus test for how successful these attempts have been to date.     

A Routine Activities Analysis of White‐Collar Crime in Carbon Markets

Scholars recently called for increased analysis of opportunity structures that produce white‐collar crimes in legitimate business systems. In the current research, we use mental models, a tool from cognitive psychology, to describe opportunity structures for white‐collar crime in the European Emissions Trading System, the largest carbon market in the world. Specifically, we use routine activities theory to describe the convergence of motivated offenders and suitable targets in the absence of capable guardians in different parts of the system. Implications for utilizing routine activities theory to understand and address crime in carbon markets are discussed.     

Conceptualising and combating transnational environmental crime

To date, transnational environmental crime has been poorly attended to by the transnational organised crime and transnational policing discourse. Academics have focused on individual elements of environmental crime, neglecting a broader theoretical discussion, while national and international institutions have prioritised other forms of organised crime, giving little thought to the nuanced nature of transnational environmental crime and how this should be reflected in policing and countermeasures. This paper attempts to rectify this by conceptualising transnational environmental crime and suggesting ways forward for countermeasure development. The paper will begin by looking at the problem of environmental crime, its value, scope and effects, concluding that the damaging nature of transnational environmental crime demands a greater focus on its policing. The nature of transnational environmental crime will then be discussed by reference to traditional forms of organised crime. It will be argued that, while transnational environmental crime is a form of organised crime, and has some features in common with the traditional organised crimes, such as drug smuggling and people trafficking, it is the substantial differences that should guide the approach to developing countermeasures. The development of effective countermeasures, it is concluded, requires a significant change in policy at every level.     

Public Perceptions of White-Collar Crime in Turkey and Some Comparisons with the United States

This study examined public perceptions of white collar crime in Turkey. The authors utilized a nationwide household sample that was extracted from the whole population of Turkey by employing a stratified multi-stage cluster sampling technique. The results indicate that Turkish citizens consider white collar crime nearly as serious as traditional crimes. But when these results are compared with contemporary research findings in the United States, the results reveal that Americans are more likely to rate white collar crime as a more serious offense than their Turkish counterparts.     

An analysis of outlaw motorcycle gang crime: are bikers organised criminals?

ABSTRACT

Outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) are identified in Australia and internationally as being heavily involved in organised crime and/or as being criminal organisations. However, academic studies have shown that OMCG members are involved in organised crime to varying extents; this differs between clubs and across jurisdictions. To date, Australian studies of OMCGs are rare. Despite this, Australian governments target OMCGs as key players in organised crime. This study contributes to the existing literature by analysing OMCGs’ criminality in one Australian jurisdiction – Queensland. It draws on rich qualitative data to determine whether and to what extent Queensland’s OMCGs are involved in serious crime, organised crime and/or are operating as criminal organisations. The study finds that Queensland’s OMCG members participate in serious crime at a higher rate than the general public, but that there are few examples of organised crime. There is little to no evidence of OMCGs acting as criminal organisations.     

Organized Crime and Trust:: On the conceptualization and empirical relevance of trust in the context of criminal networks

Organised crime networks are often characterised as being held together by bonds of trust, but the conventional wisdom regarding the relation between trust and organised crime lacks a comprehensive theoretical and empirical underpinning. The purpose of this paper is to explore where deeper research on this issue may lead and how it can potentially contribute to a better understanding of organised crime in general. Drawing on the general sociological literature, it provides a preliminary conceptualisation of trust in the context of organised crime centred around a fourfold typology along the micro-macro dimension. The authors use anecdotal evidence from their research on illegal markets for highly taxed goods in Norway and Germany to illustrate that there are different types of trust, that there are different consequences of the violation of trust, and, finally, that there are criminal relations not based on trust at all.     

Reimagining Sutherland 80 years after white‐collar crime*

Eighty years ago, Edwin H. Sutherland conceptualized and defined white‐collar crime. In this article, I engage retrospectively with Sutherland's ideas and work to emphasize important aspects that continue to guide research today; to note where he was prescient as well as shortsighted. I center this discussion around “corporate crime” or crimes by business. Four main themes are discussed: 1) law and official responses to corporate offending—the data problem, 2) corporate crime and the life cycle of organizations, 3) psychological and trait‐based explanations, and 4) consequences of definitional ambiguity.     

The downsizing of America: A neglected dimension of the white collar crime problem

Downsizing has emerged as one of the noteworthy economic trends of the 1990's. This paper offers a preliminary exploration of the implications of corporate downsizing (real or perceived) for white collar crime. The following are among the issues considered: Can downsizing be defined, in a meaningful sense, as a crime against stakeholders (for the benefit of shareholders)? Is downsizing an alternative to the commission of illegal acts by corporations seeking to maximize profit and minimize loss, or an adjunct to such crime? Is the prospect of downsizing likely to inspire greater or lesser willingness on the part of corporate middle managers to engage in illegal acts on behalf of the corporation? Are motivations to commit crime against corporate employers — and opportunities to do so — intensified (or diminished) as a consequence of the prospect of downsizing? Does downsizing promote higher levels of engagement in white collar crime among corporate middle managers compelled to accept white collar jobs paying far less than positions lost due to downsizing? Finally, does downsizing and its prospect contribute to a broader social and cultural environment conducive to more white collar crime?     

Measuring organised crime-related harms: exploring five policing methods

Many law enforcement agencies around the world have adopted risk assessment methodologies to analyse organised crime. These assessments, which are intended to provide law enforcement management with rigourous analysis to enable rational and objective decision-making processes, are an integral part of intelligence-led policing. Despite the prevalence of these assessments, as the assessments and their methodologies are often tightly restricted within the law enforcement community, it is often unclear how law enforcement defines, analyses and makes decisions about organised crime. While the use of risk assessment methodology in policing to analyse organised crime is generally under-evaluated, critics point to serious methodological weaknesses. Another less-explored aspect in the scholarly literature is how law enforcement conceptualises and measures the impact of “harm” from organised crime and uses this analysis to inform priority-setting processes. This article explores how law enforcement assesses organised crime-related harm by examining five policing methods—one each from Australia and the Netherlands and three from the United Kingdom. The article finds that the methods have significant shortcomings: the main concepts are generally ill-defined and the operationalisation of these concepts is problematic. More importantly, the problems evident in the harm methods raise several critical questions, specifically whether measuring organised crime-related harms is empirically feasible and, if so, can be undertaken in a manner that meaningfully informs law enforcement’s decision-making and limits undue political interference.     

Public reputation and organised crime: explicating the relationship between racket subcultures and informal social control

This paper examines the influence of traditional organised crime on informal social control in community areas that once had a presence of organised crime while controlling for neighbourhood attachment, satisfaction with the police, social and organisational ties, and tolerance of deviance. The data comes from the Community Survey of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. The comparative quantitative method was used to analyse the data. The findings indicate that neighbourhoods with an historic reputation for organised crime can report higher levels of informal social control when compared to current racket areas in the city of Chicago. These findings have important implications for the study of deviance. Not only do they suggest that criminals can play an important role in controlling street crime, the findings also suggest that this public reputation remains long after organised crime activities have ceased in the area.     

A community response to a 9/11 hate crime: Restorative justice through dialogue

Nearly two hours after the September 11 terrorist attacks, a hate crime was committed against the Islamic Cultural Center in Eugene, Oregon. Rather than following the conventional criminal justice process, the director of the center and his wife chose to engage in a process of restorative dialogue with other community members and the offender himself. This case study of moving from hatred to healing occurred in the larger context of restorative justice, a movement that is now developing in many hundreds of communities in more than 17 countries. Social workers committed to community practice have played an active role in this reform movement, which has developed over the past two decades.     

Enron Et Al.: Paradigmatic White Collar Crime Cases for the New Century

The Enron et al. cases (i.e., the series of “corporate scandal” cases emerging in 2001–2002, beginning with Enron, and including such cases as WorldCom, Global Crossing, Adelphia, and Tyco) are the first major American white collar crime cases of the new century. This article identifies some of the key attributes of these cases. The Enron et al. cases can only be understood by applying criminological theory on several different levels; structural, organizational, dramaturgic and individualistic dimensions are applied to the Enron case in particular. The Enron et al. cases must also be understood in the context of an emerging postmodern society. The specific role of criminologists in explaining and responding to these paradigmatic new white collar crime cases is addressed. The article ends with some conjectures on the potential outcomes of the Enron et al. cases. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Evaluating the Cost of Organised Crime from a Comparative Perspective

Whilst any estimation of crime costs is a challenge even at a national level and in respect to crimes not particularly problematic from the definitional viewpoint, like volume crimes, the task is much harder when one has to deal with the harm caused by organised crime, especially from a comparative perspective. First, notwithstanding many international acts and studies, the term ‘organised crime’ is still one of those most debated and blurred in criminology. To complicate matters further, any cross-country assessment encounters such a wide variety of national differences (cultural, in the definition of offences, and in crime data collection systems) that the results are hardly comparable. Though extremely difficult, discussing the topic makes a great deal of sense today, and especially within the European Union, because there is strong demand for sound knowledge on the most harmful activities perpetrated by organised criminal groups and where these are localised. Considering the increasing importance attached to the issue, this article critically discusses existing attempts to measure organised crime harm from a comparative perspective, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. It first reviews harm assessment models developed to date at the international level, and mainly consisting of surveys. It then presents a different approach to the subject, one more centered on official statistics and which has recently resulted in the development of a methodology in the context of a EU-funded study entitled IKOC (Improving Knowledge on Organised Crime to develop a common European approach).     

The rise of the Red Mafia in China: a case study of organised crime and corruption in Chongqing

‘Red Mafia’ is the collective term for corrupt public officials in mainland China, mainly from the criminal justice system, who attempt to monopolise the protection business in the criminal underworld by abusing power. In contemporary mainland China, the Red Mafia has developed into an alternative system of governance that can control organised crime groups, enable them to flourish, and protect them where strong government and effective self-protection associations are absent. The author examines organised crime and corruption by analysing the Wen Qiang case, one of the most famous and widely publicised cases in Chongqing’s latest crime crackdown campaign. Drawing on interview data and extensive published materials, this paper offers a tentative definition of ‘Red Mafia’, develops a typology of organised crime, describes the emergence of the Red Mafia in China, explores how gangsters developed relationships with public officials, suggests why organised crime groups chose the Red Mafia as their preferred protection and enforcement mechanism, examines patterns of services provided, and explores the differences between the Red Mafia and other Mafia groups.