Corporate crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Corporate crime - Essay Example Corporate crime does not only include in its definition the crimes of tax evasion and the embezzlement of funds. It is a vast concept encompassing crimes ranging from threats posed to human health and safety to threats posed to the environment by the activities of the corporation. A corporation is liable if it does not take reasonable measures to prevent pollution of any kind (Tombs, 2008, p. 20). Corporate crime has been defined to mean two things; the illegal conduct of people of high social status who use their power as a means of breaking the law (Sutherland 1949) or the illegal conduct of a corporate personality (Braithwaite 1984, p. 6). Work related harm is the most common type of corporate crime (Farley, 1987); it is the one most commonly given attention (James 2006, p. 205). People still fall victim to corporate crime in their workplaces and this is because of the omission nature of these crimes. No one notices the lack of some safety devices in a tool until he is involved in an accident of sorts. Many victims of corporate crime are not aware of the liability of a corporation when they get injured. When it comes to work related harm, some workers find a way of explaining their injuries whereas some may be concerned of their work future in the event of seeking redress. Work related harm is widespread and one can easily find many instances of it in the daily life. For example, Westray explosion that took place in 1992 and killed 26 miners got much hype in the media however media was unable to expose the truth of powerful corporations and the corporate crime was swept under the rugs. McMullan (2006, p. 905) analyzing the issue said that â€Å"the absence in the presence of these varied truth-telling exercises was a social vocabulary of corporate crime. This absence marked the limit of the presss ability to tell the truth to powerful corporate and state interests, the place where their