Explaining Crimes of the Privileged Class in the United States

• In Event: Perspectives on Workplace Crime, Pathways to Terrorism, Organized Religion and Deviance, and the Impact of Segregation on Drug Offenses

Abstract

Pivotal in explaining the crimes of the privileged class are the theories behind their crimes. Preceding that explanation is the definition of the "privileged class" in criminology. The privileged class are those men and women who have lucrative employments which include society's leaders, owners of businesses, executives of corporations, and all of those who are in positions of trust. Their crimes are explained by strain theory, greed, expandable wants, arrogance of power, and desire for conspicuous consumption. The paper delineates types of crimes of the privileged class, problems of control, and their costs to society. This study suggests that effective control of the crimes of the privileged class should concentrate on shaming the offender combined with heavy fine instead of incarceration in a "weekend party" federal prison.

Author

• Obi Nnadibuagha Ebbe, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga