Paper on Unveiling Injustice: White-Collar Crimes vs. Street Crimes and Their Societal Ramifications

Law enforcement authorities, politicians, media, and judges have been giving tremendous attention to street crimes, making people think that these types of delinquencies are the costliest activities in the United States. However, this is not the case since the crimes of the powerful, which are termed white-collar crimes, have more adverse effects on society than blue-collar crimes. FBI reports show that street crime cost is approximately $15 billion in a year while white-collar delinquencies hold approximately $1 trillion of the rate (Wangechi and Ndung'u, 2019, p. 37). These powerful crimes in society include stock manipulations and embezzlement of funds while street crime involves misconduct such as robbery (Mills, 2002, p. 727). The statistics indicated may be shocking since powerful crimes in most states are considered more invisible and less likely prosecuted than street crimes. Such scenarios may be caused by factors such as benefits gained by elite offenders from relevant authorities, the comparative power and political impact of criminals, as well as the luxury of affording great defense generals.

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Firstly, white-collar criminals have the opportunity to gain favors from regulatory policies, non-enforcement practices, and legal representation, a benefit that street offenders cannot afford. Generally, crimes committed by the powerful, which means the socio-economically advantaged people as white-collar offenses, are illegitimate actions imposed towards the extreme financial devastations occurring in the states (Gottschalk, 2017, p.605). Pollack and Smith (1989, p. 175) define these white-collar delinquencies as "those illegal acts which are characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust and which are not dependent upon the application or threat of physical force. Individuals and organizations commit these acts to obtain money, property, or services; to avoid payment or loss of money or services, or to secure personal or business advantage". The definition is an indication that powerful members of society can conceal evil actions to retain their reputation and secure their individual worth. Therefore, white-collar criminals skip the law in favor of the relevant authorities of criminology. They are also capable of bribing the law or involving the authorities in their evil deals at a profitable price hence hiding the damage caused to society (Levi, 2019). As a result, these crimes of the powerful are less likely to be prosecuted and apprehended even if they cause tremendous harm to society.

Secondly, wealthy elite offenders can hire the most intelligent and reliable defense attorneys in the world. Criminals such as Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom or Madoff have enough money that can be used to pay the finest lawyers globally who can represent them in courts (Mills, 2002 p. 727). White-collar crime is associated with cheating, lying, and stealing by government or business professionals in their employment context (Levi, 2019). According to the FBI, present-day fraud schemes are more sophisticated than ever (Gottschalk, 2017, p.605). These wealthy individuals can also hire the most prestigious public relations institutions that transform their delinquencies into charitable and goodwill acts. For instance, sociologist Mills observed the 1965 regime of powerful and wealthy people controlling dominant institutions of America since they are shielded from the society's inquiry (Mills, 2002 p. 727). Members of society assume that white-collar crimes are victimless offenses, which is not the case. A single case of scamming can destroy the whole company, devastating families by clearing their savings in lives, or even costing investors trillions of dollars (Pollack and Smith, 1989, p. 175). The famous Enron cases emphasize that these situations may also happen, resulting in a deteriorated economy of the state (Gottschalk, 2017, p.607). The poor street offenders who cannot afford such luxuries end up prosecuted more easily and frequently than the rich elite criminals.

Thirdly, crimes of powerful individuals in the government, business, or legitimate corporations' offices are more invisible and less likely to be prosecuted than street crimes since they hold great relative status, power, and political influence. The corporate law shields these criminals from trial together with their fellow associates with greed and similar interests. The situation is more contradictory since these power elites often violate the laws that they should be upholding. When sworn in in their offices, they swear to serve the nation as well as maintain the regulations stated in the Constitution. Wangechi and Ndung'u (2019, p. 35) argue that "bound by mutual interests, the power elite periodically commit acts of elite wrongdoing (for example dumping toxic waste) and enact policies (such as deregulation of dangerous industries) that are designed to preserve their political power and protect their profits." These scenarios indicate the higher immorality activities of the white-collar criminals and the elite deviance portrayed to society. People in power are in a position to act against the moral consent of the people they lead since the passive nature of society trusts that the leaders are acting in favor of the public (Pollack and Smith, 1989, p. 175). Damages sustained by white-collar crimes reflect adverse effects on the economic welfare of institutions and individuals. Despite such facts, the public's top executives who commit a crime often go unprosecuted and undetected, which is not the case with street offenders.

Conclusion

Conclusively, deviant acts among the powerful members of society are prevalent due to political, corporate, and military intelligence firms' structure. The complex bureaucracies are set to regulate crime, hence the variation between white-collar crimes and street crimes. The condition of crimes of the powerful being considered more invisible and going unprosecuted than the blue-collar crime is probably influenced by the common fear of knowledge and the high levels of anti-intellectualism in modern society. Some of the factors that enhance this observed behavior include the ability to obtain advantages and favors from legal and regulatory policies and the fact they can afford great lawyers and boundless public relations firms. White-collar criminals also use their high status, political influence, and power to gain advantages over their delinquencies. Although the elite offenders may not seem as dangerous as the street criminals, they cause tremendous harm to society.

References

Gottschalk, P., 2017. Convenience in white-collar crime: Introducing a core concept. Deviant behavior, 38(5), pp.605-619. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2016.1197585

Levi, M., 2019. Theoretical Perspectives on White-Collar Crime. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.266

Mills, C.W., 2002. White-collar: The American middle class. American Sociological Review, 16(5), p.727. https://doi.org/10.2307/2087372

Pollack, H. and Smith, A.B., 1983. White-collar v. street crime sentencing disparity: How judges see the problem. Judicature, 67, p.175. http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=94737

Wangechi, P.M. and Ndung'u, P., 2019. Crime of the Powerful: A Theoretical Review. East African Journal of Law and Ethics, 1(2), pp.35-42. https://journals.eanso.org/index.php/eajle/article/view/99