White Collar Vs Blue Collar Crimes
A term first used in 1911 by novelist Upton Sinclair to describe clerical and administrative work, “white-collar” workers are generally associated with jobs that don’t require strenuous physical labor. Conversely, “blue-collar” work refers to skilled and unskilled manual labor. White-collar workers are commonly paid a salary while blue-collar workers work for an hourly wage. There are disparities between the types of crimes that these contrasting classifications of workers typically commit.
People usually associate white-collar crime with social status, respectability, sophistication and wealth; however the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s definition takes none of these into consideration. The FBI has defined white-collar crime as “. . . those illegal acts which are characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust and which are not dependent upon the application or threat of physical force or violence. Individuals and organizations commit these acts to obtain money, property, or services; to avoid the payment or loss of money or services; or to secure personal or business advantage.” In more basic terms, white-collar crime is everything you were taught not to do as a child: lying, cheating and stealing. Examples of this type of crime include insider trading, securities fraud, bribery and embezzlement.
While white-collar crimes involve complex deceit used to gain capital, blue-collar crimes are generally crimes against others, and are usually thought to involve an element of violence. They can be crimes committed in the streets and include kidnapping, shoplifting, vandalism, murder and rape. Blue-collar crimes can also be victimless. Although it can be argued that the perpetrators are the victims in such cases, “victimless” crimes include drug abuse and prostitution.
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