IN THE FIELD OF CRIMINOLOGY, the term employee crime, commonly referred to as occupational crime, is generally agreed to be a subtype of white-collar crime. Beginning with the coining of the term white-collar crime by Edwin H. Sutherland, the broader concept of white-collar crime has been subject to numerous definitional revisions.

For example, it is well known that Sutherland's definition of the term was “a crime committed by a person of high status and respectability, in the course of his occupation.” This definition immediately calls attention to the fact that the white-collar offender is by nature, legitimately employed. Although it focuses on the characteristics of the individual offender, Sutherland's most extensive study of white-collar crime actually focused on sanctions against entire organizations, rather than separate ...

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