

Definition of White-collar Crime

White-collar crime is illegal activity performed by high-status people in the context of their jobs. Edwin Sutherland first coined the term in 1939. Since then, sociologists have used the concept to distinguish different kinds of criminal behavior and to study social responses to criminal behavior. Examples of white-collar crime include embezzlement, intentionally selling dangerously defective equipment, and corporate tax evasion. Although white-collar crime costs more in dollars to society than non-white-collar crime, people convicted of white-collar crimes are less likely to serve prison sentences than those convicted of other crimes. In the United States, governments often spend fewer resources combating white-collar crime, relative to what they spend on fighting other crime. White-collar crime is also sometimes regarded as less serious than non-white-collar crime.

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