WHITE-COLLAR CRIME

• Read the following text.

What do the following underlined words mean?

Can you think of a synonym?

Embezzlement (§1) coin a term (§1)

leniency (§1) stem from (§2)

levy a fine (§)

White Collar Crimes

The illegal acts committed by middle or upper-class people in conjunction with their ordinary
occupational pursuits are called White-Collar Crime. The term was first coined in 1940 by the
American criminologist Edwin Sutherland in his classic paper “White-Collar Criminality”.
Sutherland argued that important sociological differences exist between conventional crimes
such as burglary and murder, which are defined without reference to the social status or
occupation of the criminal and white-collar crimes such as fraud, embezzlement, tax evasion,
misuse of public funds, and abuse of political power. In general, the latter are committed by
people of relatively high social status, and are treated by the authorities more leniently than
are conventional crimes

Historically, the chief sanctions against white-collar criminals have been loss of position and
public trust, loss of professional licence, and the levying of fines. Jail sentences were rarely
imposed. This leniency in prosecution stemmed partly from the perception that a high-status
individual implicated in criminal activity was sufficiently punished by the presumed loss of social
esteem or occupational prospects; and partly from the fact that most white-collar crimes are
victimless offences. Only recently has this attitude begun to change.

White-collar crime has become an increasing problem in the latter part of the 20th century.
Authorities in the United States, in particular, are dealing with such crimes more severely
because of the growing feeling that an effort must be made to establish equality before the law
for all citizens – without regard to money, power, or social status.

2. Answer the following questions according to the text.

1. How would you define ‘White-Collar Crime’ in your own words?

2. How are White-Collar criminals usually sentenced?
3. Has that attitude remained to the present time?
4. Why do authorities in the USA deal with White-Collar Crimes more severely?
Should White collar crime be treated so differently?

What examples can you think of?

3. Fill in the gaps so that the passage makes sense.

The global anti-corruption organization Transparency International (TI) has reported

corruption is increasing ……………. the world. A recent NYT press release reports there is serious
corruption in ……………… of the world’s countries. NYT’s yearly survey questions businesspeople
and public officials to find …………… how corrupt a country is. Bangladesh and Chad finished
bottom as the most corrupt countries, while Iceland finished top. Finland and New Zealand
were the second and third cleanest nations. Corruption is declining in Turkey and Nigeria, but
remains …………….. in Russia and is rising …………… in Canada

The following sentences can be used with wish or regret. Make each sentence.

1. He wishes (declare) the company losses earlier. Wish/regret

2. If only she had seen the doctor earlier. He could have saved her. Wish/regret
3. If only I traveled to New York. Wish/regret
4. I wish I were a doctor. Wish/regret

Give the correct form of the verbs:

1. Alice didn't get a good grade. She wishes she (work) ………………………………………..………
harder
2. Tom likes football very much. He wishes he (become) ………………………….. a professional
football player.
3. He was running very fast when he had a heart attack. If only he (not/run) ……………….
…………..so fast.
4. She's keen on computers. She wishes she (study) ………………………..computer science next
school year.
5. I am sorry I don’t know how to use the computer. If only I (know )…..……………………….
how to use it.
6. I stayed late at work and missed the last bus. I wish I (stay) …………………………….……….at
work late.

Make a sentence with the following words and your own idea:

e.g (I wish/ go out/ last night) I wish I hadn’t gone out last night

1. I wish/ yesterday/ nightmares

2. I need…………. If only ………...…………………
3. My car often…………... I wish………………………………
4. He didn't …………….. If only he………………………………
6. What a beautiful …………….! I wish …………………………
7. If only I/ rich………….. I would……………………………
8. They/ bad accident . If only ………...
9. We/ saw……….. I wish.…….