Book Review: Proceedings of the Institute of Criminology No 37 — White Collar Crime (No 2)
| Date | 01 September 1980 |
| Published date | 01 September 1980 |
| Author | Andrew Goldsmith |
| DOI | 10.1177/000486588001300309 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
220 BOOK
REVIEWS
ANZJ
Crim
(1980) 13
book
she reiterates
some
of
those ideas
and
talks of
the
success or failure, as
the
case
may
be,
of
those
measures
which
have
been
adopted
as a result
of
recommendations
of
the
various
committees.
She
remains
unrepentant
in
relation to
her
suggestion in the
Hamblyn
lectures which, as she rightly says,
evoked
a
horrified
response
from
lawyers,
that
mens rea
should
not
be
a
necessary
component
in
crime.
Notwithstanding
the
fact
that,
not
surprisingly,
the
volume
does
not
contain
new
ideas it is, as it seems to this
reviewer,
unique
in
that
it
incorporates
the
philosophy
and
the
experiences
on the
Bench,
and
as a
reformer
over
50 years of
a
remarkable
student,
thinker
and
practical
exponent
of social studies
who,
at the
age
of 80
when
she
wrote
this
book,
retained
alively interest in
and
support
for
reforms
in the
criminal
law. It should find a
place
on the
bookshelf
of
every
person
seriously
concerned
with
our
system
of criminal justice.
ROMA
MITCHELL
Adelnide
Proceedings of
the
Institute
of Criminology No 37 - White Collar
Crime
(No 2).
It has
been
said of
Edwin
Sutherland,
the
so-called father of
the
study
of "white
collar" crime,
that
as a practising Christian from
mid-Western
America, his approach
to
the
subject of
economic
crime
made
the
mistake of confusing Main
Street
with
Wall Street. Be
that
as it may, since 1945
when
Sutherland's White Collar Crime was
published,
the
subject
has
been
incorporated
into criminology courses
around
the
world
and
has conceivably
served
as a stimulus for many of
the
attacks on
the
assumptions of traditional criminology by radical sociologists
and
criminologists in
more
recent
times.
Sydney University Law School
Institute
of Criminology has
published
the
proceedings of a
seminar
on
the
subject
held
in March 1979. Part of
the
proceedings
concern proposals for reform in
the
prosecution of corporate offenders in
New
South
Wales.
The
central
contribution
comes from Professor Gilbert Geis, from
the
University of California,
perhaps
the
most widely acknowleged
authority
in this area
at
present.
He
treats his
audience
to some of his insights on
the
American position,
particularly as to
the
state
of economic crime in
the
medical profession
and
the
work
of Ralph Nader,
concluding
with ahighly moralistic call for
more
retribution
and
general
deterrence
in
sentencing
corporate offenders. Such aresponse is necessary,
he says, in
order
to
"deter
others
and
to
restore
faith in
the
justice
and
fairness of
the
criminal
justice
system". Notably
the
ultimate
suitability of
the
criminal law to
regulate commercial transactions is
regarded
throughout
as
nonproblematic
and is
not
considered.
Another
paper
contains anaive discussion of
the
etiology of "white
collar" crime, finishing with a
recommendation
of self-regulation within
the
commercial world. Interestingly,
the
speaker
sees
the
day
when
businessmen
might
consult ethical consultants regarding business decisions,
the
consultants
being
persons
equipped
with
degrees
in business administration
and
theology. Adiscussion
follows, largely
concerning
the
recommendation
that
summary trials
be
introduced
to
deal expeditiously
with
corporate offences in
the
Supreme
Court.
London
ANDREW
GOLDSMITH
To continue reading
Request your trial