White-Collar Crime: Financial Services

OVERVIEW

Due to the development of society and technology, crimes are no longer limited to “conventional” or “classic” definitions such as murder, breaking and entering, robbery, and so forth. The society now acknowledges “white-collar crime”, which is defined as a financially-motivated nonviolent crime, with a more sophisticated method, involving fairly-educated individuals.

Criminologist and sociologist Edwin Sutherland first coined the term “white-collar crime” in 1939, defining it as a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation. The definition includes crimes committed by corporations and other legal entities within his definition.[1] Sutherland specifically associated the term “white collar” with business managers and executives to distinguish their offences from the confidence games of the underworld.[2]