Bad guys: why the public supports punishing white-collar offenders

Until the latter part of the 1960s, the American public was inattentive to the problem of crime in the upperworld. Due to a confluence of events (e.g., Watergate affair, Vietnam War, civil rights movement), concern about this lawlessness rose precipitously in the 1970s. Public attention toward and w...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Cullen, Francis T. 1951- (Author) ; Hartman, Jennifer L. (Author) ; Jonson, Cheryl Lero (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2009
In: Crime, law and social change
Year: 2009, Volume: 51, Issue: 1, Pages: 31-44
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Corporate Crime
Corporate Executive
Corporate Scandal
National Poll
Street Crime
Description
Summary:Until the latter part of the 1960s, the American public was inattentive to the problem of crime in the upperworld. Due to a confluence of events (e.g., Watergate affair, Vietnam War, civil rights movement), concern about this lawlessness rose precipitously in the 1970s. Public attention toward and willingness to punish white-collar crime has persisted into the twenty-first century. We argue, however, that due to a series of recent scandals (e.g., Enron, WorldCom), public opinion about upperworld offenders has been transformed qualitatively. High-profile offenders are now seen not as respected community citizens but as "bad guys" whose crimes reflect inordinate greed and a disturbing lack of concern for victims. This typification is conducive to the prosecution of white-collar offenders but may have the unanticipated consequence of deflecting attention away from structural sources of corporate illegal enterprises.
Item Description:Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 42-44
ISSN:1573-0751
DOI:10.1007/s10611-008-9143-3