When the public demands "law and order" and when newspapers editorials talk about the "rising tide of crime," they have in mind

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问题     When the public demands "law and order" and when newspapers editorials talk about the "rising 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.

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答案 1.然而一个依然存在的事实是,美国社会的大部分犯罪——也许绝大部分犯罪,当然也是高代价的犯罪——是由应受尊敬的中层和上层市民犯下的。 2.“白领犯罪,”他说,“可以大致上这样来定义,即一个应受尊敬的和有崇高社会地位的人在从业过程中所犯下的罪行。” 3.社会学家现在使用“白领犯罪”这个术语,不仅是指那些在商务活动中为本公司利益而犯的罪行,也指那些通常由高层人土为个人利益所犯的诸如盗用公款公物之类的罪行。 4.更要紧的是,这种白领犯罪总被人们认为不如下层阶级的犯罪那么严重,因此也不那么引起警方和检察官的注意。 5.为了避免惹人的注意,公司官员会只让那个违法者在做出一个偿还亏空的钱款安排后辞职。

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