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Seriousness of Crime in Fredericton, New Brunswick: Perceptions Toward White-Collar Crime

NCJ Number
115651
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 31 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1989) Pages: 19-34
Author(s)
C Goff; N Nason-Clark
Date Published
1989
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Criminologists have argued throughout the twentieth century that the public is indifferent to white-collar crime.
Abstract
However, recent high profile white-collar crimes in both Canada and the United States raises the possibility of changes in the public's perceptions of such violations. By replicating Rossi et al.'s Baltimore, Maryland 1972 survey and Cullen et al.'s Macomb, Illinois 1979 survey of the seriousness of 140 offenses, the present study illustrates that while-collar crime is perceived by a Canadian sample to be less serious than almost all other forms of illegal behavior. When different types of white-collar crime were analyzed, substantial variation was discovered in the ratings, with the highest degree of seriousness attributed to those white-collar crimes involving physical harm. (Author abstract)

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