White-collar Crimes :: Legal Issues, Unethical Behaviors

People draw conclusions and profile the average committed street crimes by race, gender, and social classes. White-collar crimes are probably not as common as street crimes to the average person. Not everyone hears about every crime and some crimes manage to slide around the news. Society usually thinks of crime as violent or unethical abuse of some sort (leaving a baby in the car on accident). Poverty, social environments, and peer pressure influences decisions for people who committee white-collar crimes. Society views of crime are mostly based on personal profiling of offenders and conclusions of the average convicts. A person who reads the newspaper every single day concludes a description of criminals through what they see and read. Elliott (2010) writes, â€Å"The media are quick to report crimes involving individuals that the public would normally espouse as pillars of success† (pg. 1). People think highly of celebrities and successful socialites and the public are appalled when socialites commit white-collar crimes. Media plays important parts of societal views and standards. A store that gets robbed a lot in a certain neighborhood is always on the local news channel. There would be a mental imprint telling you not to go to that store or go at night alone. People are used to turning on the television and seeing convicted murders who fit the typical profile. The not so typical profile such as Martha Stewart or John Rigas is upsetting because their crimes are not the usual norms of society. People symbolize social norms by following the rules of society and maintaining individual society roles. Physical crimes are often more upsetting to people than white-collar crimes. Mooney, Knox, & Schacht (2011) write, â€Å"Nonetheless, many white-collar criminals go unpunished† (pg. 124). People who commit white-collar crimes probably think the sentence for getting caught will not be extreme punishment. Therefore, some white-collar criminals take the risk and label their behavior as accepting. The economical depletion makes poverty, unemployment, and business struggles worse within communities. Elliot (2010) writes, â€Å"Certainly, the global economic crisis we are currently experiencing sets the stage for desperate financial measures† (pg.2). Financial problems affect all social classes in different ways. Someone working at a fast food chain that gets paid minimum wage may have trouble financially. There may be children they must support by any means necessary.