The notion of the white-collar crime can be used when referring to an extensive array of the criminal activities. Nonetheless, the focus of these crimes is a significant financial gain which is commonly achieved by dishonest behaviors (Siegel, 2015). The majority of scams, money laundering cases, and embezzlements may be considered white collar crimes. The fraudulent activity also relates to white collar crimes (these events usually include various scams and security frauds).
Other prevalent variations of white collar crimes include tax evasion and insurance fraud. It is important to notice that court verdicts for white collar crimes can be reached at both state and federal levels (Singh, 2014). The ultimate decision usually depends on the severity of the crime. Nevertheless, the criminal has to be aware of the criminal liability and realize the consequences of their actions.
When it comes to describing a typical white collar offender, there are certain behaviors that may serve as critical indicators. The two most prevalent characteristics are the tendency to spend more than they can afford and involvement in various financial problems (Gottschalk, 2014). The statistics support this supposition as approximately 30% of the white-collar offenders that were caught display the two behaviors described above. Moreover, one-fifth of white-collar offenders were found to have major personal problems and had issues with teamwork (Gottschalk, 2014). The majority of potential white-collar offenders also display petulance and may have a serious addiction to various substances (legal or illegal).
They also tend to complain about their low salary. One should realize that the presence of these characteristics does not necessarily mean that these individuals are white-collar offenders or will become the latter in the nearest future (Gottschalk, 2014). Regardless, every organization should be interested in hiring experts that possess specific knowledge regarding frauds and are able to identify the premises to fraudulent activities.
When we address white collar crimes, there are several things that should be taken into account before reaching a verdict regarding any given case. First, one should remember that punishment theory is the foundation of the idea of criminal law. In other words, this means that the behaviors that are not in line with the outlooks of the community should be punished (Benson & Simpson, 2015). Expanding on the topic, these laws are enforced on the society in order to accomplish full compliance with the guidelines, and they critically impact every member of the society. Regardless of the criminological theory, the ultimate goal of the criminal justice system is to punish the offender.
The procedure of punishment is a multidimensional and rather perplexing process. The repercussions and the premises intersect, and the court has to reach a verdict even if the offense was trivial and not harmful. White collar crimes habitually relate to court cases where blameworthiness is rather hard to prove. Nevertheless, one of the critical characteristics of the offender is the class to which they belong.
The unique features of white collar offenders commonly allow them to eliminate adversative considerations concerning their delinquent behaviors. The challenge of sentencing white collar offenders consists in the fact that courts have to remain transparent while providing a sufficient level of flexibility. Another challenge relates to the fact that currently, courts are not willing to connect sociology and the sentencing process even though the former stood at the origins of discussions on the topic of white collar crimes.
References
Benson, M. L., & Simpson, S. S. (2015). Understanding white-collar crime: An opportunity perspective. New York, NY: Routledge.
Gottschalk, P. (2014). Policing white-collar crime: Characteristics of white-collar criminals. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Siegel, L. J. (2015). Criminology: The core (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Singh, S. (2014). White-collar crimes: Causes, prevention, law and judicial trends. New York, NY: Routledge.