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.