Business-related crime has become one of the most crucial challenges for many organizations. The nature of crime is constantly changing, which increases the number of threats to businesses and makes it more difficult to predict and prevent these wrongdoings. The emergence and introduction of different technologies in the working processes has given rise to new, non-conventional business crimes and complicated this process even more. Although there might not be any certain standards or strategies to detect potential violations of Criminal Law at the workplace, several ways to prevent business-related crimes can and should be used by organizations.
There are several steps to be taken in order to create a foundation for crime prevention in a company. First, it is necessary to analyze a business, its processes and operations, and their vulnerability to crime. Recruitment practices, layout, and general security have to be assessed regularly in terms of all types of white-collar and blue-collar crime. Prevention principles include employee training on security practices and procedures, using high-quality alarm systems, and cooperating with law enforcement. In addition, it is important to establish policies that cover all aspects of crime prevention, crime reporting, and other behaviors related to illegal activities. Business-related crimes are often believed to be crimes of opportunity, which means that they are committed when offenders realize that they have an opportunity to commit a crime that was not premeditated (Tilley & Sidebottom, 2017). Therefore, if appropriate prevention measures are taken, the number of potential crimes can be reduced significantly both in corporations and smaller businesses.
Another important issue to consider when discussing crime prevention in businesses is reporting other people’s misconduct or criminal activities. This activity is also known as whistleblowing and can often pose certain dilemmas for people witnessing or aware of the crime committed. It is not always easy for a person to report cases of corruption, fraud, intimidation, and other unethical behaviors. Many people can be afraid of taking these risks, because it can lead to unfavorable outcomes and retaliatory acts, such as dismissal, reduction or denial of employee benefits (United States Department of Labor, n.d.). However, there is a special program that protects whistleblowers in the US, which was introduced by the federal government and is referred to as “the Whistleblower Protection Act” (National Whistleblower Center, 2021). Any organization that appears to be violating the whistleblower protection laws is subjected to such disciplinary measures as suspension, financial penalty, and, in most serious cases, a civil lawsuit.
Although creating such policies is a crucial step to prevent and manage crime in companies, there are still several challenges related to this issue. For example, some companies and managers may consider a person who acted as a whistleblower in their previous job to be disloyal and prone to giving away company secrets. While such assumptions are certainly unfair and prejudiced, they may lead to whistleblowers being blacklisted in their field of work. Therefore, future policies and organizational strategies may focus on developing measures to avoid these complications.
It can be concluded that, although there are currently many policies and principles in place that aim to prevent business-related crime, it still remains a pressing issue. To minimize the risks of illegal practices, companies have to lay the foundation for preventing all kinds of criminal activities, from burglary and corruption to Internet fraud and identity theft. Moreover, whistleblowing within organizations has to be encouraged, as employees need to be sure that they are free to speak about any potentially damaging and illegal activities they notice. All these measures combined will allow decreasing the number of organizational crimes in the country.
References
National Whistleblower Center. (2021). Whistleblower Protection Act FAQ.
Tilley, N., & Sidebottom, A. (2017). Handbook of crime prevention and community safety. Taylor & Francis.
United States Department of Labor. (n.d.).Retaliation. The Whistleblower Protection Programs.