Essay: Security Manager

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[. . .] " (Lewis 2) Furthermore, the media encourages these people by making their stories public and providing them with the impression that they are not at all responsible for the situation they are in.

Business managers and executives as some of the individuals most likely to get involved in performing white-collar crime

By focusing on these people as being among the most important communities committing white-collar crime, the present paper does not attempt to claim that the upper class is not capable of committing other types of crimes or that lower class individuals are unlikely to commit financial crimes.

The standard view of white-collar criminals is that they are normally law-abiding persons and that they manage to stay hidden from radars for most of their lives, even with the fact that some of their crimes have long-reaching effects. It is actually ironic that many white-collar criminals are found to be first-time offenders when (or if) they are actually caught. "They are wealthy, highly educated, and socially connected." (Gottschalk 12) As a consequence, many white-collar criminals end up receiving very little penalties on account of their crimes. Security managers typically deliver much harsher penalties in the case of financial offenders that are from the lower class and that have no connections. Education, wealth, and social connections thus play an important role in determining a person's accountability for his or her actions.

Contemporary white-collar criminals Today's world is bombarded with news involving white-collar criminals and in some cases these people are even portrayed in ways that make them heroes rather than criminals. When taking into account the recent film The Wolf of Wall Street, it would be safe to say that many individuals have been positively impressed as a result of seeing Leonardo DiCaprio playing a party-obsessed 1980s and 90s broker who took advantage of his charming personality and created a billion dollar brokerage company that ruined the lives of numerous people.

The authorities were practically shown as the antagonist in this film, as they seemed to be one-dimensional characters solely interesting in harming criminals instead of wanting justice. The fact that the real-life individual that inspired the film's story, Jordan Belfort, was provided with a 22-month penalty because of becoming an informer shows how some of the world's greatest criminals are advantaged because of their position. This can be considered a typical case when considering influential individuals responsible for committing white-collar crimes. "Their pleas of mercy are often accepted after they promise to repay their victims or to cooperate in prosecutions against others." (Thio & Taylor 134) A person from the lower class guilty of having committed financial crimes would have certainly been provided with a much harsher penalty.

When considering Belfort's situation, it would be safe to say that the authorities wanted to get the most out of the situation. The fact that individuals like Belfort have somewhat of an advantage as a result of their position makes it difficult for law enforcement agents to actually be able to provide them with the penalty they deserve. The FBI was able to see the bigger picture in this situation and realized that they could exploit Belfort both by sending him to prison and by making him yield to pressure in order to influence him to turn against his former accomplices.

The media contributes to making white-collar criminals and the world as a whole have a distorted understanding of this type of crime. "They may admit that they have committed the acts that landed them in prison, but they regard them only as mistakes, not as something motivated by a guilty criminal mind." (Thio & Taylor 134) These people often think about crime in its conventional appearance, as they simply think that as long as their activities did not involve any violence or any type of risks concerning someone else being harmed, it would be perfectly normal for the authorities to provide smaller penalties for them when comparing their situation to those involving conventional crimes (Thio & Taylor 134).

While Belfort's case was presented in a glamorous way through films like The Wolf of Wall Street and Boiler Room, conditions were much more complicated in the case of Bernard Madoff. The former stockbroker was in charge of financial fraud that is largely considered to be among the largest in all of U.S. history. What is even more concerning is that Madoff took on a facade that made it difficult and almost impossible for anyone to realize that he was responsible for having committed criminal activities. People like him manage to influence their victims to trust them and in many cases these respective victims can prevent security managers from being able to effectively experience progress with their investigation.

Harry Markopolos's 2000 report contained significant proof with regard to how Madoff had been using a Ponzi scheme strategy with the purpose of keeping his business alive. "Markopolos' complaint stated that Madoff's returns were unachievable using the trading strategy he claimed to employ, noting Madoff's "perfect market-timing ability." (Kotz 27) The SEC Boston District Office apparently did not understand the information that it was provided with and decided not to further pursue the matter. Markopolos proceeded with writing several other complaints and even published a book in an attempt to reveal the fact that Madoff managed to fool a whole world in thinking that his business had been legitimate.

While some might be inclined to believe that the authorities were unable to understand Markopolos' complaint, the real reason why he was ignored can be much more complex. Madoff managed to gather a large number of influential supporters through the years and this meant that these people were probable to act against anyone wanting to expose him, regardless if they actually knew about his scheme or not. "The OIG could find no explanation for why Markopolos' complaint, which the Enforcement attorney and the former head of NERO acknowledged was "more detailed than the average complaint," was disregarded so quickly." (Kotz 27) Although there is little evidence to prove this, it is safe to say that Madoff's supporters played an important role in preventing his case from being addressed further.

Dealing with white collar crime

In its struggle to bring down criminals more effectively, the FBI has come to associate this type of crime with a wide range of criminal activities. Many academics, however, believe that this would be wrong, as many of the crimes currently believed to be white-collar crimes are in disagreement with the traditional image of white collar crime. "Another way to define white-collar crime is to focus on white-collar crime as violations of trust that occur during the course of legitimate employment." (Understanding White-Collar Crime 42)

A security manager needs to be able to employ complex thinking when dealing with individuals suspected of having committed white-collar crime. Such persons can be evasive as a result of their ability to convince others that they are innocent or that they are actually concerned about the greater good. These people are probable to go through great efforts in order raise supporters and the fact that they often provide the masses with the feeling that they are heroes further contributes to uplifting their position.

The authorities need to encourage the masses to acknowledge the important role they have in fighting white-collar crime. Even with the fact that society in general is well-acquainted with the concept of white-collar crime and with the degree to which it can negatively affect the masses, the contemporary social movement dedicated at preventing white-collar crime has experienced very little progress during recent years. "In the more conservative 1980s in the United States, some curtailing of federal investigative resources and budgets of regulatory agencies occurred, which resulted in a dip in white collar crime convictions." (Friedrichs 18)

Events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks turned people's attention away from white collar crime and thus influenced the government to provide the authorities with lesser funds meant to combat this type of illegality. "Corporate crime was not a significant focus of the 2008 contest for the American presidency, being overshadowed by other matters such as the state of the economy and the ongoing war in Iraq." (Friedrichs 18) The financial crisis and cases like the one involving Bernard Madoff did, however, manage to captivate the public's attention and to make people feel like it was essential for the authorities to do everything in the power in order to prevent white collar crime and to provide harsh penalties for individuals responsible for committing such crimes.

Witnesses are essential when considering white collar crime, informers and whistleblowers thus being very important when considering investigations regarding such crimes. What is even more concerning is that individuals who have access to evidence are also likely to be involved in the criminal activity they want to denounce. This is why individuals like Jordan Belfort escape with a 22-month penalty, with security managers having little to no alternative… [END OF PREVIEW]

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Cite This Essay:

APA Format

Security Manager.  (2014, February 17).  Retrieved July 18, 2019, from

MLA Format

"Security Manager."  17 February 2014.  Web.  18 July 2019. <>.

Chicago Format

"Security Manager."  February 17, 2014.  Accessed July 18, 2019.