Trying to Fight This

Law enforcement training is key. Preventing, detecting, investigating, and prosecuting economic crimes must become a priority in order to lessen their impact on the economy and the public's confidence. Law enforcement, as it stands now, is in danger of slipping further behind highly sophisticated criminals. Specialized training in the areas of economic and computer crime, as well as computer forensics, needs to be continued for law enforcement personnel at the Federal, state, and local levels. This is especially important as nearly all white-collar crime now involves computers. Laws, regulations, and reporting systems are crucial solutions. In the U.S., all levels of government have allowed self-regulation of the Internet. Government regulation, for the most part, has focused on cybercrimes that are not economic ones, such as child pornography and cyberstalking. That attitude appears to be changing. There are numerous bills pending in Congress that address criminal frauds committed on the Internet, identity theft, and issues involving Internet security and attacks upon websites.

Johnston, Richard. "White-Collar Crime Laws Need Toughening in Response to New Technologies." USA Today 130 (Jan. 2002): 36-38. Rpt. in White-Collar Crime. Ed. Kelly Wand. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 5 Jan. 2011.

Trying to Fight The Crime

As a result of limited law enforcement resources, corporations on their own or in cooperation with industry coalitions, such as BITS, the technology group for the Financial Services Round-table, have had to initiate strategic economic crime-management plans and investigative groups. While protection of corporate assets and their consumers should be their responsibility, there are several consequences to this arrangement. Many economic crimes go unreported; fewer prosecutions of these offenses occur; and perpetrators tend to be fired rather than prosecuted, leaving them free to move on to another organization and continue their victimizing.

On the Federal level, numerous regulatory and law enforcement agencies are authorized to combat specific economic crimes, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Customs. Local law enforcement capabilities for combating economic crime vary, depending on the size and location of the department and the allocation of resources. Some larger municipalities and state law enforcement agencies have formed economic and computer crime units.

There are multiple programs and agencies that try to stop, prevent, or detect federal crime. Some include Coalition for the Prevention of Economic Crime, National Cybercrime Training Partnership, Internet Fraud Complaint Center, and National White Collar Crime Center. But are these enough to help protect the people against this crime.

Johnston, Richard. "White-Collar Crime Laws Need Toughening in Response to New Technologies." USA Today 130 (Jan. 2002): 36-38. Rpt. in White-Collar Crime. Ed. Kelly Wand. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 5 Jan. 2011.

Technology and White-Collar Crime Go Hand In Hand

White-collar crimes come in many different forms, including money laundering; credit card, health care, insurance, securities, and/or telecommunications fraud; intellectual property and computer crimes; and identity theft. The growth of the information age and the globalization of Internet communication and commerce have impacted significantly upon the manner in which economic crimes are committed, their frequency, and the difficulty in apprehending the perpetrators. According to the National Fraud Center statistics, economic crime cost the nation $5,000,000,000 in 1970, $20,000,000,000 in 1980, and $100,000,000,000 in 1990. As businesses and financial transactions become more and more computer and Internet dependent, the reality of increased economic crime grows exponentially, fueled by the rapid growth of technology. So you can see that as there is an increase in technology there is an increase in crime. But wouldn't you think that this would make it easier to detect and prosecute for the crime.

Johnston, Richard. "White-Collar Crime Laws Need Toughening in Response to New Technologies." USA Today 130 (Jan. 2002): 36-38. Rpt. in White-Collar Crime. Ed. Kelly Wand. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 5 Jan. 2011.

Repaying Debts?

Many corporate fraudsters will never repay the debt they've been deemed to owe their victims. The responsibility to enforce fines and restitution in federal cases rests with financial litigation units. Prosecutors face many obstacles in trying to turn restitution judgments into actual cash for victims, according to information gathered from court filings, congressional studies, and discussions with about 30 lawyers and victims involved in white-collar fraud cases. Some white-collar defendants don't actually have much money, particularly those convicted of operating sham companies or Ponzi schemes [investment scams]. Of those who do, some take advantage of the time it takes to investigate and prosecute corporate fraud by transferring and hiding assets in the meantime. No matter how much restitution—or how little—the government may ultimately collect from a criminal, first it has to calculate the size of the award and who should receive it. In a corporate fraud case, victims are typically identified by investigating agencies. After a conviction, a probation officer presents the court with a presentence report, which includes a summary of the criminal's finances and a collection of statements from victims about the financial and emotional impact of the crime. In some cases, judges order restitution as a lump sum payable at sentencing, plus a monthly amount to be paid after release from prison. In other cases, the whole amount comes due in full at judgment. But still in some cases there are people that do not pay all the debt that they owe. Also like it said that some people take advantage of the time and hide their money. Shouldn't they be continued to be followed up until they repay all the money? Why do they not have the harsh conditions of repaying the debt that most people have to go through?

Todd, Ross. "White-Collar Criminals Rarely Repay Their Debts." American Lawyer 29 (Nov. 2007): S68-S72. Rpt. in White-Collar Crime. Ed. Kelly Wand. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 5 Jan. 2011.

Schools not teaching Ethics?

Good character can be defined as a composite of qualities, typically of moral excellence and firmness blended with resolution, self-discipline, high principles, and sound judgment. Our character establishes both our day-to-day demeanor and our destiny. Can these virtues be instilled through education? If so, can they build character?

Popular newspaper columnist Leonard Pitts writes that "reputation is about who you are when people are watching; character is about who you are when there is nobody in the room but you. Both matter, but of the two, character is far and away the most important. The former can induce others to think well of you, but only the latter allows you to think well of yourself." The ImClone scandal involving Martha Stewart is an example of how reputation and character are interrelated. Martha Stewart built an empire atop beautiful living. Yet, her involvement with ImClone and her conviction for making false statements to federal agents cast suspicion on her character and tainted her reputation. The evidence of her unethical behavior and dubious character dragged down the reputation of her business.

Overall can these crimes be the result of the educational system not preparing their students for the real world. It is very possible that schools and even more so colleges could have a role in white collar crime. It could be one long chain reaction that needs to be stopped somewhere. If the school has anything to do with it will these actions tend to continue or will they begin to disappear? Also if this is the case what can school do to help make sure they allow there student to build character and other quality traits that will make white collar crime begin to decline?

"White-Collar Crime Is the Result of Business Schools Not Teaching Ethics." White-Collar Crime. Ed. Kelly Wand. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 7 Dec. 2010.

Do White-Collar Criminals Do Less Time?

While the number of white-collar crimes is on the rise and increasingly in the headlines, the accounts of affluent offenders doing prison time are few and far between.

Because of spotty enforcement, white-collar criminals are far more likely to get away with their crimes than poor folks. And when they are caught, wealthy corporate executives can take refuge in their powerful friends and associates while availing themselves of high-priced lawyers, jury-selection experts and mitigation specialists. While most other people can not afford to get the best experts and lawyers to cover for them. The truth is, most corporate crooks get the best representation money can buy, and money, in the criminal justice system, can buy quite a bit. Unlike average criminal defendants, who have few reasonable expectations about where they will do their time, white-collar criminals usually employ consultants to help insure that the defendants serve their sentences under conditions of confinement that, while never pleasant, are nonetheless tolerable. And it works. Because so much of corporate crime is adjudicated in federal rather than state court, corporate criminals often serve their time under relatively cushy conditions of confinement. This seems to be the case for many people in high places and more of it seems to be bought to the public attention. But even with the publicity there are still people committing the crime and getting away with more then they should. You could even say while people are in jail for smaller things for a longer time these white-collar criminals use a "get out of jail free" card and end up having to do less time then they should. This is wrong and at this point larger consequences need to be set so this stops happening and people are brought to justice. Just because they have more money to buy better lawyers doesn't mean that they are any better than other criminals. Sooner or later this white-collar crime needs to stop.

Feige, David. "White-Collar Criminals Rarely Do Hard Prison Time." The Nation (23 June 2005). Rpt. in White-Collar Crime. Ed. Kelly Wand. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.

Breakdown

Through the history of time there has always been crime and corruption committed by office workers, executives, professionals, and politicians in connection with their jobs. First off the term white-collar refers to a person that usually wears dress clothing to work, like a suit and dress shirt.

People commit white-collar crimes to obtain—or to avoid the loss of—money, property, services, and personal or business advantage.

White-collar crime encompasses a variety of illegal activities—including bribery, forgery, investment schemes, and con games—designed to take the money of unsuspecting individuals. Many white-collar crimes involve fraud relating to credit cards, telemarketing, income taxes, banking, computers, or insurance policies. Embezzlement is the theft of money or property by a person who has been entrusted with it. Money laundering is the transfer or investment of money from illegal business dealings to conceal its source. Counterfeiting involves copying or imitating money and passing the copy to others as genuine.

"White-Collar Crime." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 8 Nov. 2010.