White Collar Crime - An Overview

Abstract

Ever since Sutherland (1939) coined the term “white-collar crime”, there has been extensive research and debate on what to include and what to exclude from this offense category (e.g., Piquero and Benson 2004; Pontell et al. 2014; Stadler et al. 2013). In accordance with Sutherland’s original work, convenience theory emphasizes the position and trust enjoyed by the offender in an occupational setting (Shapiro 1987). Therefore, the organizational dimension is the core of convenience theory where the offender has access to resources to commit and conceal financial crime.