Formal Approaches in Controlling White Collar Crime: The Criminal Justice System and the Regulatory System

Abstract

Unlike ordinary street crime, there are two formal systems of controlling white-collar crime. These systems are the criminal justice system and the regulatory system. The criminal justice system controls white-collar crime by using criminal law whereas the regulatory system depends mainly on administrative law and uses various ways such as financial penalties, product recalls, and warnings to control white-collar crime. In this paper two formal justice systems of white collar crime have been discussed. Although the criminal justice system, which is the traditional means to control white-collar crime, can be a strong way to control white-collar crime, it has some limitations. That is, the criminal justice system is difficult to apply to the corporate world and it is the reactive response against white collar crime. In contrast, although the regulatory system is the weak way to control white-collar crime, it has some strength. That is, the regulatory system is a proactive response against white collar crime and it can apply to the corporate as well as natural persons. The characteristics of the regulatory system make it better equipped to situational crime prevention theory compared to the criminal justice system.