Exam 4 - White Collar & Organized Crime Flashcards

1
Q

What is Sutherland’s concept of white-collar crime?

A
  • Must be committed by a person of respectability and high social status
  • Cannot be murder, intoxication, or other related crimes discussed in class.
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2
Q

Who can commit white-collar crime, according to Sutherland?

A
  • People of high respectability and high social status in the course of his/her occupation
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3
Q

Why was Sutherland’s conceptualization of white-collar crime controversial?

A

It posited that crime was a phenomenon of the “lower class”

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4
Q

What are Edelhertz typologies of white-collar crime?

A

Personal Crimes
Abuse of Trust
Business Crimes
Con games

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5
Q

What are personal crimes (Edelhertz)?

A

Crimes committed by persons operating on an individual, ad hoc basis, or personal gain in a business context.

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6
Q

What are Abuse of Trust crimes? (Edelhertz)

A

Committed by those operating inside businesses, govt, professional capacity, or etc. in violation of their duty of loyalty and fidelity to an employer or client

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7
Q

What are business crimes (Edelhertz)?

A

Crimes incidental to or in furtherance of business operations, but not central to business operations

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8
Q

What are con games (Edelhertz)?

A

White-collar crime as a business, or as the central activity of the business.

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9
Q

What are white-collar crimes as “Elite Deviance”?

A

Crime committed by elites themselves for personal gain, for by their employees for the purpose of enhancing their power, profitability, or influence of the organization involved.

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10
Q

What are the three definitions of white collar/organized crime?

A

Occupational
Corporate
Government

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11
Q

What is occupational crime?

A

A violation of trust by an employee, usually for personal financial gain.

Ex. Employee theft, embezzlement, insider trading, fraud

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12
Q

What is corporate crime?

A

Offenses committed primarily to enhance the financial and competitive interests of the corporation

Ex. False advertising, consumer fraud, antitrust violations, price fixing, environmental crimes.

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13
Q

What are government crimes?

A

Illegal activities engaged in by agents of the government to protect or advance the political position of an administration, regime, or ruling party

Ex. Abuse of power, bribery/corruption, concealing illegal activity

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14
Q

What is the typology of occupational offenses?

A

Organizational occ. crime - Benefit of employing org.
State Authority occ. crime - By officials through state authority
Professional occ. crime - By profs. in capacity as prof (ex. lawyer)
Individual occ. crime - By individuals as individuals (tax evas. etc

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15
Q

What are the two criteria for white-collar crime by the National White Collar Crime Center?

A
  • Status of the offender w/in the organization or community
  • The use of deception
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16
Q

What is organized crime?

A

A continuing criminal enterprise that works rationally to profit from illicit activities that are often in public demand.

17
Q

What are the common features of organized crime?

A
  • Formalized structure
  • Existence maintained through the use of force, threats, and/or corruption of public officials
  • Members are generally accomplished criminals before entering the group
  • Continuity-based structure
  • Most income is derived from supplying the public with goods and services not available in the legitimate market.
18
Q

What is La Costa Nostra (LCN)?

A

The Mafia

19
Q

What is the structure of La Cosa Nostra?

A

The Commission - National Ruling Body
Boss/Don
Consigliere - Counselor/Advisor to the boss. #3 man in the family.
Underboss - Second in Command
Capos - Ranking-made member who leads a crew of soldiers
Soldier - Made man, the lowest member of the family
Associate - Individual part of the crew but has not been made but operated under their protection.

20
Q

What is the corporate model?

A
  • Day-to-day activities are planned and coordinated at the top and carried out by subordinates.
  • Members are entitled to run their own rackets using family connections and status
  • A percentage of soldier earnings are paid to lieutenants, and up the chain so forth.
21
Q

How is LCN membership established?

A
  • Restricted to Males of Italian descent of proven criminal enterprise
  • Prospective members must be sponsored by made men who take responsibility for them during a probationary period.
  • Promising criminals not of Italian descent may become associate members. Estm. 10 associates for every made man.
22
Q

What is the Opportunity/Subculture explanation for white-collar crime?

A

Opportunity structure enables subcultures of larger networks of offenders, invoking a cost of secrecy and honor.

23
Q

What is Status/Conflict theory explanation for white-collar crime?

A

Higher status persons are more likely to engage in “lower-consensus” crimes with impunity

24
Q

What percent of reported crimes are white-collar crimes?

A

4%
- Typically committed by college-educated white men

25
Q

What is Sellin’s theory for white-collar and organized crime?

A

When there is a clash of cultures, dominant members seek to criminalize minority behaviors
- Denying access to housing, jobs, medical care, and educational opportunities
- Minority culture members may respond by involvement in organized criminal activity

26
Q

What is the Power/control theory explanation for white-collar and organized crime?

A

Most powerful groups in society seek to maintain advantaged position by defining the behaviors of the less powerful as criminal

  • Corp and govt. criminal activities committed by higher-status individuals are intended to enhance their influence and power.
27
Q

What is the social learning explanation for white-collar and organized crime?

A
  • Differential association combines subcultural and learning formulations
  • Motivations, rationalizations, and techniques for engaging in white-collar and organized crime are learned through interaction w/offenders.
28
Q

What is the rational choice explanation for white-collar and organized crime?

A
  • Benefits of comitting the crime are weighed against the anticipated risks.
  • Careful planning is essential to commit a white-collar offense successfully or to sustain lucrative organized crime operations.
29
Q

What is the thrill-seeking explanation for white-collar and organized crime?

A

The thrill of engaging in high-risk crimes can be seductive
- For some the monetary rewards may be less important than the emotional rewards derived from the crime.