Applying Theories of Criminality

Applying Theories of Criminality Student’s Name Institution of Affiliation Course Instructor Date Abstract This paper aims to assess corporate embezzlement based on the effectiveness of three theories about the rationale of white-collar crimes: neutralization, labeling, and strain theory. Out of the three, the strain theory proves to be the most relevant where traditional crime is concerned since the theory argues that unlawful conduct is precipitated by pressure arising from the fact that, through legal means, an individual has no viable chance of acquiring financial or social status. Strain theory emphasizes the socio-economic stress beneath which high-rank individuals in corporations resort to embezzlement. Regarding criminal justice policies, the problems arising from this theory include rectifying the structural patterns that underpin such crimes by expanding the legal paths to economic means. The paper recommends increasing corporate supervision, audit scrutiny, and executives' ethics education as effective measures against fraud. Another suggestion includes extending the bar for corporate fraud and embezzlement to prevent future offenses, thus focusing on the crime-causing root as postulated by the strain theory of the criminal justice system. Keywords: Fraud, strain theory, neutralization theory, labeling theory, white collar crime, criminal justice policies. Applying Theories of Criminality This paper discusses the relevance of studying the background factors that lead to criminal behavior with the view to developing interventions for crime control. To better understand the case discussed above, it is best to consider another current example of corporate embezzlement, where the money of millions of dollars has been embezzled by a senior executive within the company. Mischief, a civil crime, is the act of dishonesty in handling the affairs of an organization; money or property belonging to an organization by a person who was supposed to guard it, and the act leads to a large amount of loss and harm in the social facet. Three criminological theories will be applied to better understand the factors contributing to this crime. The three theories often associated with crime include labeling, strain, and neutralization theories. All these theories have different perspectives on the psychological, social, and structural factors that might have triggered this person to commit a crime. This essay will also discuss the possible implications of these theories for criminal justice policies when applied to this case and possible ways of preventing similar types of crime in the future. Description The criminal offense under consideration is a modern example of embezzlement in a big company, where a high-ranking official stole millions of dollars from his business for several years. Embezzlement is part of the so-called 'white-collar crimes,' which are committed by persons in positions of authority in organizations with the involvement of organizational funds (Hamidieh, 2022). In this case, the executive forged documents, altered accounts, opened fake invoices, and siphoned money to personal accounts while being professional and credible. This was discovered during an internal audit by the company staff when it exposed a rather elaborate fraud that had been running blind for years. White-collar crimes, including embezzlement, are not more easily noticeable than street crimes despite having a profound negative impact on organizations and society. Recent figures suggest that white-collar crimes such as fraud and embezzlement increase, directly draining $300 billion in the US economy yearly (Higgins, 2023). Unlike most other violent crimes, embezzlement is committed mainly by people who hold professional positions within organizations and abuse their authority to commit the crimes – the offenders can be executives, accountants, or financial managers. Application of Theory Application of Labeling Theory According to labeling theory, criminal tendency is determined by the labels put on anyone involved in breaking the law. Criminologists claim that when a person is labeled a criminal, such a label will influence their self-concept and act correspondingly, leading them to commit other criminal activities (Esmaeilpour, 2021). In the broader scheme of things regarding the case of corporate embezzlement, there is a very cogent explanation as to why the white-collar criminals' notion is likely t...