WHITE-COLLAR CRIME

crime committed by persons of relatively high social or economic status in connection with their regular occupations. White-collar crimes fall broadly into two categories: those illegal actions undertaken by perpetrators to make money for themselves; and those illegal actions undertaken principally to further the aims of their company or other organization. The most common crimes falling into the first category are embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, securities theft, bribery and kickbacks, insider trading, computer crime, and some types of fraud. The second category of crimes comprises a vast variety of illegal practices by corporations and other organizations: restraint of trade (i.e., monopolies and price-fixing), misrepresentation in advertising, unfair labour practices, health or safety violations in the workplace, income-tax law violations, and various financial manipulations. The economic cost of white-collar crime in most industrial societies is thought to be much greater than the combined cost of larceny, burglary, auto theft, forgery, and robbery.