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.