PROCEEDINGS of the ACADEMIC WORKSHOP -J
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If you have issues viewing or accessing this file, please contact us at NCJRS.gov. PROCEEDINGS of the ACADEMIC WORKSHOP "Definitional Dilemma: Can and Should There Be a Universal Definition of White Collar Crime?" -j 'II June 20-22 1996 Sponsored and Co-hosted by ~~ National White Collar Crime Center t~~1 and West Virginia University ~:*~~ PROCEEDINGS of the ACADEMIC WORKSHOP "Definitional Dilemma: Can and Should There Be a Universal Definition of White Collar Crime?. ~ii~i~,::,,,~ii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!! '~ @ O O O ® O @ Edited by James Helmkamp, Richard Ball and Kitty Townsend National White Collar Crime Center Training and Research Institute Morgantown, West Virginia prr.National Criminal Justice Reference Service - :' GOOO Rock~,il{e,k'iO 20850 © 1996 National White Collar Crime Center Training and Research Institute 11 Commerce Drive, Suite 200 Morgantown, West Virginia 26505 Permission is hereby given for this text to be reproduced, with proper attribution, by non-profit and public agencies engaged in research and training for criminal justice personnel. No resale or commercial use may be made of this document. Printed in the United States of America October, 1996 This project was supported by Grant No. 96-WC-CX-001 as awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance with the U.S. Office of Justice Programs. The opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the presenters and discussants and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National White Collar Crime Center or the U.S. Department of Justice. gi~il ~M~++ I ..................... 1"''1+:+ . , P(oo • '1"!. ..... , • i.. + ~ -.] .... :.. ~!;u. ...... : !~:.;.. !~!~z.i?.!!::!', , .::;i:+;;~" ~~.!,!~~1' D !,%![", d• + t+~v+,+,+++.._.+ ~+.+~+ +, +~,+,;,+~ ++..+,+,~ t~ p+,,+o,- +;i+........ ,/r:-+G+^,+.~ s4~-~+,.+ -~,~ -p ++-,O,, ,,..Q o,+ ,;,,, ++ ++++~++ -." ,I i ,1: .,,,.+, 'I" ' ": +++++ llf,l.lllll lll,llll +~++ +]j+++++ +i+++:+rj J+~:.~i . ++i!:+~ 'I .l.+tpl+~,...+~:~t~.t+...:+ ,I-. +ppttflll :'lll;t:fllJlll~l I - ~.~+~ ...A~r many hours of discussion and debate that continued over meals and afterhours, a group of Workshop participants went to lunch on the s~-'ond day. Discussion was lively and points of agree- ment and disagreement were noted. Using the exchanges made up to that point. Jay Albane~ began to write what he thought might be a consensus definition. Littlle did he know this would lead to anything more substantial. The napkin was eventually passed around and changes were made as/t circulated. What follows are the many other presentations which generated meaningful insights--on napkins, and otherwise... I.H. iv CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................ vii PREFACE ........................................................................................................................................... ix INTRODUCTION Opening Remarks .................................................................................................................................. 3 DICK JOHNSTON Welcome to West Virginia University .................................................................................................. 7 DAVID HARDESTY Workshop Charge ................................................................................................................................ 11 BILL McDONALD GROUP ONE PAPERS The Role of the Collective in Defining White-Collar Crime .............................................................. 17 KATE JAMIESON Underworlds and Upperworlds: The Convergence of Organized and White-Collar Crime ............................................................................................................................. 35 GARY POTTER and LARRY GAINES GROUP ONE DISCUSSIONS ...................................................... : .................................................. 57 GROUP TWO PAPERS What is White Collar Crime? New Battles in the War of Definitions .............................................. 77 JIM COLEMAN Offense-Based Versus Offender-Based Definitions of White Collar Crime ..................................... 87 JAY ALBANESE From White-Collar Crime to Elite Deviance: Reasons for a Paradigm Shift .................................... 95 DAVE SIMON Recalling Status, Power and Responsibility in the Study of White-Collar Crime .......................... 105 KIP SCHLEGEL GROUP TWO DISCUSSIONS ..................................................................................................... 115 V GROUP THREE PAPERS The Impact of Technology-Based Crime on Definitions of White Collar/Economic Crime: Breaking Out of the White Collar Crime Paradigm ............................................................. 153 GARY GORDON Defmition in White-Collar Crime Scholarship: Sometimes it Can Matter ...................................... 161 GIL GEIS White Collar Crime, Computers, and the Legal Construction of Property ...................................... 173 RAY MICHALOWSKI Understanding the Context of White Collar Crime: A Sutherland Approbation ............................. 205 BOB MEIER GROUP THREE DISCUSSIONS ................................................................................................. 221 GROUP FOUR PAPERS Varieties of White Collar Crime: Corporate, Organizational, Occupational, Organized, Political and Professional ............................................................................................... 243 FRANK HAGAN Defining White Collar Crime: In Defense of an Inclusive Approach .............................................. 263 DAVID FR/EDRICHS Constructing White Collar Crime: Diverse Perspectives and Convergent Claims .......................... 275 LARRY NICHOLS Moving Beyond Profit as an Explanation of Corporate Crime: Explaining Corporate Crime from an Organizational Perspective ...................................................................... 295 GARY RABE and M. DAVID ERMANN The Logic of Def'mition Applied to Various Definitions of White Collar Crime ............................ 317 DICK BALL GROUP FOUR DISCUSSIONS .................................................................................................... 337 CONCLUSION Coming to Consensus ........................................................................................................................ 351 Closing Remarks ................................................................................................................................ 353 DICK JOHNSTON vi Acknowledgments Many different individuals contributed to the success of this Workshop. We most fervently thank the white collar crime scholars who saw the wisdom in our efforts and worthiness of our goals. Their papers and comments form the core of these proceedings. From the very outset, from concept to Stalnaker Hall, the guidance, support and encouragement we received from Bill McDonald, the Chair of the Center's Board of Directors and Dick Johnston, the Center's Director was greatly appreciated. We owe a great deal of gratitude to Rebecca Dean, the Center's Meeting Coordinator, who handled the logistical aspects of the Workshop in a magnificent manner. She coordinated all our needs, wants and special requests with Nancy Nestor and her staff at West Virginia University. Other Center staff including Gary Lusher and Sandy Hantz assisted us in many ways in preparing for the Workshop. Meredith Pearce designed the cover and section dividers. The WVU Student Intems provided a valuable service by taking notes during the discussion sessions. We hope they derived a sense of interest in the field of white collar crime by observing the experts. Finally, we want to especially acknowledge the significant contributions of one of our co- editors - Kitty Townsend. She helped in every aspect of the Workshop from abstract and agenda preparation, to audio recording and Intern coordination, to survey collation and analysis, to evaluations, to proceedings format and proofreading. The overall success of the Workshop was possible by many idividuals working together for a common goal. Thank you all. vii viii Preface When the concept for the Workshop was developed in early 1996, a list of approximately 30 academic experts on white collar crime was prepared and each was invited to participate in the 3-day Workshop. We feel very fortunate to have had about half of these gather in Morgantown, West Virginia, June 20-22, 1996 to discuss the definitional dilemma surrounding white collar crime. We realize that prior commitments, publishing and editing deadlines, teaching responsibilities, and vacations prevented additional participation. This Workshop, which was held on the campus of West Virginia University (WVU), was co-sponsored by the National White Collar Crime Center and WVU. The purpose of the Workshop was to discuss the many differing opinions on the definition of white collar crime and formulate a working definition that can be operationalized for use by the Center and its membership. This membership is represented by state and local law enforcement agencies, state regulatory agencies, national consumer advocacy organizations, and private-sector businesses in 47 states. The debate and discussion over the many iterations of white collar crime definitions has a long and storied history with which all the Workshop participants are quite familiar. The National White Collar Crime Center wanted to provide a forum of free