White Collar Offenders

Comparative Leniency to White Collar Crime Punishments
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Comparative Leniency to White Collar Crime Punishments
Leniency to white-collar criminal offenders is a common phenomenon in the modern justice system. Dr. Heiland et al. commemorate a fresh ideology on the factors influencing leniency to such elite offenders (1991). According to them, modernization, civilization, and power are the key factors that promote leniency in punishment subjected to white-collar criminals.
Crime patterns are similar in a capitalist, socialist and communist societies, some of which are characterized by modernization, civilization, and power. While civilization breeds modernization, both influence power, and control over most major operation within the governance of a society. The study of criminal development indicates a capitalist society has higher rates of white-collar crimes than a socialist society despite the similarity of crimes in both societies.
In comparison, a socialist society deals with criminals through harsh and severe punishments such as excommunication and sometimes death row. In a capitalist society, however, things are different. A capitalist system initiates investigations that may sometimes be corrupt by the very suspects of the case (Heiland et al., 1991). Lack of sufficient evidence collected, therefore, promotes leniency in punishments assigned. For instance three years jail term for fraudulent activities in business or one-year incarceration for evasion of taxes for a decade.

While these factors may influence the criminal justice system, it is admirable that no individual is put above the law. In my view, corruption has risen to heightened levels, as a result of power and civilization. The capitalist system especially promotes greed for power and self-interests. This has promoted corrupt officials in the criminal justice system. I think it is time for the justice system to enforce peculiar reforms that de-motivate corruption within its operations. Various strategies such as harsh condemnation or immediate excommunication to corrupt officials will discourage corruption thus depriving power to the civilized and elite white-collar criminals finding their way through the criminal justice system.

Reference
BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Heiland, H. G., Shelley, L., & Katoh, H. (1991). Crime and Control in Comparative Perspectives. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co.