A Comparative Study of Theories in White Collar Crimes

This essay provides an overview of theoretical approaches to white-collar crimes, focusing on rational choice theory and self-control theory. It begins by defining white-collar crimes and highlighting their prevalence. The essay then delves into rational choice theory, explaining how individuals weigh the costs and benefits of criminal acts, considering factors like the risk of punishment. It also discusses the theory's criticisms, such as its failure to account for social interaction. The paper then explores self-control theory, which posits that criminal behavior stems from a lack of self-control developed in early childhood. This section details how individuals with low self-control prioritize immediate gratification and fail to consider long-term consequences. The essay uses examples like embezzlement to illustrate how these theories apply in real-world scenarios. In conclusion, the essay emphasizes the importance of understanding these theories to address and prevent white-collar crimes. The assignment is contributed by a student to be published on the website Desklib, a platform which provides all the necessary AI based study tools for students.

Running head: THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO WHITE COLLAR CRIMES 1
Theoretical Approaches to White Collar Crimes
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO WHITE COLLAR CRIMES 2
Table of Contents
Introduction 4
Rational Choice theory 4
Self-control theory 5
Conclusion 7
References 8

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO WHITE COLLAR CRIMES 3
Executive Summary
The current world is encompassed with complex and persistence changes of criminal acts. it is
essential to know the reason why criminal cases increase in the society and why people are prone
to such immoral acts. theories of crime explain what an occurrence is and how it functions. It
emphasizes on scholarly works and tier implications on the day to day practice. The paper
illustrates two theories of crime; rationality theories and self-control theories. Their implication s
and how relevant they are to the victims of crime is described. the paper looks at the literature
review on the theoretical aspects of theories and critiques of the theories.

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO WHITE COLLAR CRIMES 4
Theoretical Approaches to White Collar Crimes
Introduction
White collar crimes are crimes committed due to deceit and are championed by financial
gain. These types of crimes include tax evasion, money laundering, embezzlement and fraud.
Besides, white-collar crimes are committed by persons of high stature and are respectable in their
positions in the society (Payne, 2016) . Several theories have been used to explain criminal acts.
Since crimes are complex and multilayered, are classified based on the conflict, rational choice,
biological, social learning and social control. This paper focuses on rational choice theory and
self-control theoretical approaches to white collar crime.
Rational Choice Theory
Rational choice theory was developed by Clark and Cornish (Hedstr{\"o}m & Stern,
2017). The theory is associated with deterrence theory. People tend to make rational decisions to
prevent instances of being punished and avoid criminal sanctions through discouragement. The
theory holds that an individual studies the impacts of crime against the advantages of that
criminal act before engaging in such activity. The second element holds that one chooses
criminal act if the benefits outdo the cost. An individual then has to consider certain factors
before making a decision to commit the act. For instance, one will think of imprisonment, being
arrested and isolated and also the chances of being caught. Rational theory offers a basis for
security tactics that facilitates the risks and implication of crime. Therefore, rational theory is
criticized by both good and bad opinions. Some bad options apply to bad sections of the theory
with critics failing to address the good versions of the theory as the theory creates
misunderstanding in the sense that it motivates individuals to have selfish incentives.

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO WHITE COLLAR CRIMES 5
Rationality seems to be dependable on selfish acts as well as altruism in an instance
when an individual selects acts that have the most benefits to them. The theory fails to recognize
social interaction. It depicts the human as people with super mentality that can solve situations to
give complex results based on all options available at the moment. All human being therefore
share explicit and implicit ideal of rationality. Hence, individuals adopt cognitive procedures that
will minimize their risks of accomplishing it wrong when right matters (Hirschi, 2017).
Individual understand that the quest of their ends is undermined if they act on untrue beliefs thus,
they never adopt correct procedures either if it does not affect their normative ideal.
An example of rational theory in practice is a manager in the banking sector or financial
institution who withdraws some percentage of money from the customer’s account and covers
the loss. The employer then uses the embezzled finances to purchase luxuries. This shows that
the predicament is outweighed by the white-collar criminal behavior of the manager to make
such decisions that benefit his or her personally. He or she thinks taking money as a way of
stealing from customers' account outweighs the chances of being found. This shows that rational
choices are made by criminals and never contemplate the consequences (Cudd, 2016). Their
chances of such acts being punished by imprisonment, fines among others but the doers of such
actions despite the consequences. Instead, they engage in criminal acts as they think the benefit
is more than the consequences.
Self-Control Theory
Self-control theory is the general theory. The self-control theory argues that the
probability that an individual will engage in crime started to develop from one’s early childhood
and becomes stable during his or her life course (Linden, 1996). The self-control theory fails to
recognize positivistic criminology and instead holds that an individual who commits a crime

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO WHITE COLLAR CRIMES 6
cannot be different from those who do not engage in criminal activities. People are rational
actors and thus consistently engage in selfish behaviors that motivate their pleasures while
preventing any instances of discomfort (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 2017). According to the theory, a
child that is brought up effectively can acquire a higher level of self-control, which then lowers
their ability to participate in criminal acts among other analogous activities. The theory was
formulated by Hirschi and Gottfredson to accomplish their objectives (Gottfredson & Hirschi,
2017).
Self-control is the ability to refrain from behaviors that have long term effects surpassing
the current and immediate advantages. Criminals aim at the aspect of their behavior which
includes recklessness, sinful and deviant acts. People engage in acts that fulfill their instincts
sooner because they lack self-control. These include imprudent sexual behaviors, fraudulent acts,
gambling, drugs and substance abuse, over speeding among others. Such individuals however
become futile in social settings since it would require sustained effort, planning and delayed
satisfaction. The key tenents in self-control theory is that people who lack self-control are not
able to delay their gratification (Sampson, 2017). They, therefore, pursue short-term objectives
and fail to heed the long-term implications of their acts.
Self-control theory assumes that human beings are naturally selfish and are prone to seek
pleasure. They tend to avoid pain in most circumstances (Malmberg, 2019) . Hence, the human
always wants to make themselves happy without considering the consequences of their actions,
in the easiest way possible. For instance, a man will want to own a car without working hard,
toiling day and night and going the hard way to become successful and own a car. The urge will
push such a person to steal money or engage in fraudulent behaviors to get such quick cash and

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO WHITE COLLAR CRIMES 7
get the desired car. The immediate advantages of crime highly motivated individuals. People
tend to comfort their mental torment by getting higher and never passing through the therapy.
Conclusion
On the other hand, people ignore the consequences of engaging in criminal behaviors
which have negative long-term consequences. When people make choices, they become rational
and maximize pleasure in the choices that presume afterward. Since every human acknowledges
the immediate consequence of an action, the dimension of self-control has an impact on how
individuals consider the risks of their future existence socially, politically and naturally. Hence,
individuals lacking self-control are not deterred from criminal acts due to the perceived long-
term effects since they never consider the effects when making decisions. However, people with
high self-control sacrifice the immediate benefits that criminal activities offer as they consider
the future and admit that short-term benefits are excruciating than postponed values.

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO WHITE COLLAR CRIMES 8
References
Cudd, A. E. (2016). Rational choice theory and the lessons of feminism. In A Mind of One's Own
(pp. 398--417). Routledge.
Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (2017). Self-control and opportunity. In Control theories of
crime and delinquency (pp. 5-20). Routledge.
Hedstr{\"o}m, P., & Stern, C. (2017). Rational Choice Theory. The Wiley-Blackwell
Encyclopedia of Social Theory, 1-7.
Hirschi, T. (2017). On the compatibility of rational choice and social control theories of crime. In
The reasoning criminal (pp. 105-118). Routledge.
Linden, R. (1996). Criminology: A Canadian Perspective.
Malmberg, T. (2019). Human Territoriality: Survey on the Behavioural Territories in Man with
Preliminary Analysis and Discussion of Meaning. 33.
Payne, B. K. (2016). White-collar crime: The essentials. Sage Publications.
Sampson, R. J. (2017). Family management and child development: Insights from social
disorganization theory. In Facts, frameworks, and forecasts (pp. 63-94). Routledge.