White Collar Crime: Awareness and Perception Analysis

The present study comparatively examined the perceptions and experiences of participants on white-collar offences in relation to traditional street level offences in the cities of Ankara and Eskişehir. For this objective, a wide range of information was collected, including the perceived seriousness of offences, victimization, high risk behaviors that may be related to victimization, crime control, and the perceived victim profile. A total of 381 participants living in Ankara and Eskişehir were selected via convenience sampling methods. The results were analyzed with descriptive statistics as well as T-test, and ANOVA. The results revealed that the participants perceive white-collar offences as significantly serious criminal acts in comparison to common street level offences and that they believe that states should allocate equal funds to white-collar offences as well as common street level offences. We also found that there were significant differences between the participants' attitudes towards the potential victim profile and their attitudes towards actual victims. The findings are believed to be significant for law enforcement agencies, consumer protection organizations and other experts working in the field.