Power Relation and White-Collar Crime: Case Study of Coastal Reclamation in Indonesia

This research aims to understand the power relation and white-collar crime on managing the coastal reclamation and its implication in Indonesia that is very significant at the ontological and sociological level. The problem is very interesting to be analyzed by conducting a qualitative research method based on power theory and crime theory. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation related to coastal reclamation and its implication in Indonesia. Data were analyzed by using interactive models are data reduction, data display, data verification, and supported by triangulation. The results were based on ontological and sociological levels using criminology perspective for understanding the coastal reclamation and its implication in Indonesia that are needed for providing information to stakeholders related to the regulations and sanctions. This result provides inputs for making better regulation on coastal reclamation policy in Indonesia for state agencies as public officials and practitioners.

Penalties for economic crimes in the criminal laws of the UK and the USA

The subject of the presented research is the criminal law on punishment and other measures of criminal law applied in Great Britain and the United States to persons who have been found guilty of committing economic crimes. Purpose of the study: to present scientifically grounded proposals on the advisability of including in the Russian criminal law certain measures of criminal law that are applied to persons convicted of economic crimes, as an effective means of preventing white-collar crime. List of methods and objects of research. In the course of the research, dialectical, comparative-legal, formal-logical, as well as other methods of cognition used in theoretical and legal research were used in aggregate. Conclusions of the study: in the UK and the US, the practice of attracting persons convicted of many economic crimes is characterized by a high degree of severity. Punishments and other measures of criminal law, as a rule, involve the imposition of imprisonment for long periods. In addition, the perpetrator is subject to penalties aimed at the seizure of illegally obtained material values, as well as compensation for harm caused to the victim as a result of criminal activity. Such methods of combating economic crime have a high effect of private prevention of the commission of new crimes. But a significant number of people held in places of deprivation of liberty has an extremely negative effect on the financial and other interests of the state. Therefore, the Russian policy of humanizing criminal responsibility is seen as more promising in terms of countering modern economic crime. At the same time, the rule on the application of property-related punishments should be considered as a priority in the fight against economic crimes.

Dramaturgical self-efficacy and opportunity structures for white-collar crime

Perceived self-efficacy is often held to be the most focal mechanism of human agency. It has shown strong potential to explain action in multiple areas highly relevant to understanding crime, at least when the concept is formulated in close connection with the conditions that characterize the criminal acts it is supposed to explain. This article introduces the concept in the context of white-collar crime. To advance our understanding of how opportunities for such crime work, self-efficacy is defined with regard to one’s ability to control others’ impression of financially relevant information, or what is called dramaturgical self-efficacy. The presentation of this concept and its various elements is illustrated with contemporary empirical cases of white-collar crime and is preceded by a discussion of how opportunity structures and perceived self-efficacy have been understood in previous research relevant to the field. The article also discusses how the concept can be further developed with regard to the relationship between motivation and opportunity for white-collar crime.

An assessment of sentencing approaches to persons convicted of white-collar crime in South Africa

Assessing court sentencing approaches to persons convicted of white-collar crime is a complex task. For the purposes of this article, this research task involved assessing the appropriateness of sentences imposed within the proportionality principle during the period 2016 to 2021 in South Africa. This further involved the empirical use of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, in order to determine how commercial courts – in this case, the Bellville Commercial (Regional) Court – impose a sentence on white-collar criminals. The article establishes that, in South Africa, categories of white-collar crime such as corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering are increasingly reported by the media, independent institutions and government. There is a public perception that courts are generally lenient in sentencing white-collar offenders. This article aims to determine the appropriateness of a sentence, within the principle of proportionality, for white-collar criminals, in order to deter this type of crime.

Some Determinants of Crime Reporting Among Economic and Financial Crime Victims: The Case of Azerbaijan

Relatively limited attention has been paid by scholars to explore the crime reporting behavior of white-collar crime victims, especially in developing countries, such as Azerbaijan, where some forms of white-collar crimes are widespread. Using the dataset of the first nationwide victimization survey (n = 1,214) in Azerbaijan, the current paper attempts to explore the determinants of crime reporting among 4 specific white-collar offense (fraud, request for bribery, sale of unsafe good and sale of unsafe food for consumption) among randomly selected, yet unrepresentative subsample of victims (n = 186). Offenses were categorized in two groups for analysis—financial/economic offenses and non-financial/economic offenses, hence two models in a binary logistic regression analysis. The results indicate that the extent of financial loss predicts the crime reporting behavior for victims of financial offenses. Those with a higher level of the perceived probability of being victimized by a violent crime were more likely to have notified the authorities of their victimization. Applicable for non-financial crimes only, the level of income has an inverse association with a decision to invoke the law. The relationship of a victim to an offender predicted a decision to contact the authorities—cases in which the offender was identified as a stranger were less likely to be reported to the law enforcement authorities than cases in which the offender had not been identified. No socio-demographic variable has a predictive capacity for either crime category. In addition, as the main motives for not mobilizing the law, almost half of the cases have been resolved in between the offender and victims, such as through compensation. The findings have several theoretical implications for white-collar crime literature. Suggestions for further research, as well as the limitations, are discussed toward the end of the paper.

A Preliminary Assessment of Rural Corruption in China

Rural-related corruption in China manifests itself differently in terms of different forms and intensity over time. The preliminary findings indicate that rural-related corruption in China is a particular type of white-collar crime. It embraces a mixed dimension of political crime, economic crime, corporate crime, environmental crime, and crimes within social control systems, such as the police. The time series analysis demonstrates an increase of diversity and intensity of this corruption. It also shows that rural corruption is dynamic and its dynamics have evolved significantly over time. An analysis of the historical context identifies three distinctive stages of rural-related corruption (1995-2007; 2008-2012, and 2013-2017), from acknowledgement of the issue, to issue outbreak, to a "rampant" stage, all with consistent determinants and explanations. Evidence shows that Chinese national land use policy is among the leading explanations of rural corruption. The majority of other types of rural corruption also are rooted in land-related issues. The causes of corruption in rural China have both institutional and individual behavioral explanations, which distinguishes them from the explanations of general corruption. General criminological explanations of corruption must be modified to fit a rural context and the unique histories of particular society, which in this case, is China.

White-Collar Crime: Contemporary View

The article touches upon the problem of white collar criminality and presents a contemporary view of the phenomenon. The concept of white-collar crime, first introduced by Edwin H. Sutherland in 1939, immediately became the driving force behind the discussion undertaken by criminologists and sociologists of that time. Since then, many studies have been conducted in order to answer the question about who actually is a “white collar” – why do respectable, well-situated individuals decide to enter the path of crime? The author contrasts two types of definitions – the subjective white-collar crime definition developed in Anglo-Saxon culture and objective definition of economic crime functioning in Europe. It is significant that the crime of white collars has never really been systematized in the Polish legal system (and most of European legal systems), in contrast to economic types of crime.The author compares recent literature, presents characteristics of white-collar criminals and comes to the conclusion that in this specific group of criminals the ties between the perpetrator and the community in which they live are very weak. Finally, the article touches on a problem of possible beneficial consequences of attempting to investigate the scale of crimes committed by white collars.

Legal protection justice collaborators in corruption justice system

Corruption is a crime that is difficult to eradicate because the perpetrators of corruption usually have a strong economic and political position so that corruption is classified as a white-collar crime, crimes as business, economic crimes, official crime, and abuse of power. The purpose of this research is to know the urgency of providing legal protection for witnesses to perpetrators who are willing to cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation of Corruption Crimes. This research is normative legal research using the statute approach, philosophical approach, and case approach. The results can be explained that the urgency of providing legal protection for perpetrators of witnesses who are willing to cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation of Corruption Crimes because Justice Collaborator is the main actor who can help uncover a crime because it has the potential to have evidence to drag the main perpetrator and other suspects in. Third, the future arrangements for perpetrator witnesses who are willing to cooperate with law enforcement still cannot be used as a strong legal basis regarding the right of commutation of sentence for Justice Collaborators in criminal justice by law enforcement officers and many have weaknesses, especially in terms of commutation of sentences for Justice Collaborators for their testimonies in assisting law enforcement officers but are only used as considerations by judges without any binding power that obliges judges to provide leniency.