When the public demands "law and order" and when newspapers editorials talk about the "ris

ing tide of crime," they have in mind mostly street crime committed by the poor. Even the massive report of the President's Crime Commission, the Challenge of Crime in a Free Society, devoted only two pages to the entire subject of white-collar offenders and business crimes. The deep concern with street crimes is understandable. Unlike a swindler, who merely takes the victim's money, an armed mugger threatens physical injury and even death. (1) Yet the fact remains that a great deal of crime in American society—perhaps most crime, and certainly the most costly crime—is committed by respectable middle-class and upper-class citizens. The term "white-collar crime" was first used by Edwin Sutherland: in an address to the American Sociological Association in 1939.(2) "White-collar crime," he declared, "may be defined approximately as a crime committed by a person of respectability and high status in the course of his occupation." Sutherland documented the existence of this form. of crime with a study of the careers of 70 large, reputable corporations, which together had committed 980 violations of the criminal law or an average of 14 convictions apiece. Behind the offenses of false advertising, unfair labor practices, restraint of trade, price-fixing agreements, stock manipulation, copyright infringement, and outright swindles, were perfectly respectable middle-class executives. (3) Sociologists now use the term "white-collar crime" to refer not only to crimes committed in the course of business activities for corporate benefit but also to crimes, such as embezzlement, typically committed by persons of high status for personal benefits.

As Sutherland pointed out, the full extent of white-collar crime is difficult to assess. Many corporate malpractices go undetected, and many wealthy people are able to commit crimes like expense-account fraud for years without being found out. (4) More important, white-collar crimes are usually regarded as somehow less serious than the crimes of the lower class, and they attract less attention from police and prosecutors. Even the victims may be unwilling to prosecute because of the offender's "standing in the community" and would rather out of court. A company that finds its safe has been burgled in the night will immediately summon the police, but it might not do so if it finds that one of its executives has embezzled some of its funds. (5) To avoid unwelcome publicity, the company officials may simply allow the offender to resign after making an arrangement to repay the missing money.