The Correctional Experiences of White‐Collar Offenders

Abstract

White-collar offenders’ characteristics are thought to mediate the way they experience criminal justice. This is the background for this chapter’s exploration of their correctional experiences. It begins with discussion of offenders’ special sensitivity to punishment, the extent to which white-collar offenders constitute a broadly similar group of offenders and how they may resist taking on a criminal identity. Explorations of their imprisonment emphasize the shock of the transition to prison for white-collar offenders, who cope by drawing upon previous experiences or making themselves useful within prison. This aside, they appear to face no special difficulty adjusting to prison. Less is known about their experience of community corrections, although a perception by both offenders and supervisors that these may offer little of use may mar their effectiveness. The chapter ends by giving consideration to the experiences of white-collar offenders in the wake of punishment, including processes of shaming as they relate to attempts to punish white-collar offenders and more general concerns around their desistance from crime.