The Development and Diversity of Corporate Offending

• In Event: Trajectories and Patterns of White-Collar and Corporate Offending

Abstract

Purpose: Corporate crime can have large consequences for public safety and the environment. To enable regulatory agencies to formulate and execute effective regulatory strategies, an understanding of the development and characteristics of the criminal behavior is needed. We apply criminal career research concepts, namely developmental trajectories and the diversity of offending, to examine patterns in the extent and nature of corporate offending.
Methodology: The current study utilized register data acquired through regulatory inspections in Dutch inland shipping. We analyzed these data using (1) Group-Based Trajectory Modelling to distinguish criminal careers of both ships and corporations and by (2) computing a diversity index score to examine the nature and clustering of offending.
Results: Multiple trajectory groups can be discerned. These groups differ on multiple variables, although effect sizes were small. In addition, we find that the offending behavior is characterized by both specialization and diversity.
Conclusion: Corporate offending levels change over time. As change in criminal careers, and therewith the risks imbued in violating, is possible, to target those corporations who present the highest risk, regulators have to continuously reidentify offending groups. Additionally, since specialization and diversity may have different causes, they require different theoretical explanations.

Authors

• Jelmar Meester, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

• Marieke Kluin, Leiden University

• Arjan Blokland, Leiden University / NSCR

• Wim Huisman, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam