Abstract
The article touches upon the problem of white collar criminality and presents a contemporary view of the phenomenon. The concept of white-collar crime, first introduced by Edwin H. Sutherland in 1939, immediately became the driving force behind the discussion undertaken by criminologists and sociologists of that time. Since then, many studies have been conducted in order to answer the question about who actually is a “white collar” – why do respectable, well-situated individuals decide to enter the path of crime? The author contrasts two types of definitions – the subjective white-collar crime definition developed in Anglo-Saxon culture and objective definition of economic crime functioning in Europe. It is significant that the crime of white collars has never really been systematized in the Polish legal system (and most of European legal systems), in contrast to economic types of crime.The author compares recent literature, presents characteristics of white-collar criminals and comes to the conclusion that in this specific group of criminals the ties between the perpetrator and the community in which they live are very weak. Finally, the article touches on a problem of possible beneficial consequences of attempting to investigate the scale of crimes committed by white collars.
Highlights
The concept of white-collar crime was first presented in 1939 in Philadelphia by Edwin H
Sutherland, an American sociologist, who gave a speech at the 34th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association entitled “White – Collar Criminal” (Sutherland, 1940, p. 1–12)
The 10 years Sutherland devoted to the detailed preparation of a publication on his concept, in which he presented theoretical considerations concerning the specificity of white-collar crime, and detailed research on a defined phenomenon, conducted among 70 largest American corporations (Sutherland, 1983, p. 13–25)
Summary
The concept of white-collar crime was first presented in 1939 in Philadelphia by Edwin H. It should be pointed out that the notion of white-collar crime, referring to the perpetrator of a prohibited act, should not be identified with the notion of economic crime – the numerous objective definitions of which, from the beginning of their formulation,2 focus mainly on the attempt to define a group of violated goods
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
