When it comes to crimes, they are not all created equal. You may have heard the terms “blue collar crime” or “white collar crime” in the past. While they are both crimes that are punishable by law, you should understand the difference so that you will be aware of the way they are categorized according to the law.
Why should we know the difference?
One reason you should know the difference between blue and white collar crime is that there are different types of punishments for the two categories of crimes, as well as the way the legal system views them.
What is a Blue Collar Crime?
Blue collar crime is a crime that involves a violent crime or one that involves injury of persons or property. In the past, it was associated with lower social class but today the meaning involves more the kind of offense rather than the status of the perpetrator.
What qualifies for a blue-collar crime?
Blue collar crimes are often considered the types of crimes that are committed by people of lower social class. But there is more to it than this. Blue collar crimes include a variety of crimes that often cause injury to people or property including the following crimes:
- Burglary
- Theft
- Sexual assault or general assault
- Drug crimes
- Damage to property, vandalism
This is not an extensive list, but this gives you an idea of which types of crimes would fall into the category of “blue collar crimes.” As you scan through this list, what do all of these crimes have in common? They are all crimes that cause injury or damage to others or their property, right?
So blue collar crimes are not just crimes committed by lower social class people, but they are crimes that are of a more invasive or violent nature that poses a threat to the individual.
What is a white-collar crime?
White collar crimes have sometimes been referred to as “crimes committed by higher class individuals” as opposed to a lower class. But, as already addressed above, the social class of the person is not necessarily the criteria that determine whether something is a blue-collar or white-collar crime.
White collar crimes are usually those crimes that involve a misuse or abuse of the fiduciary system (money and banking, fraud, or illegal transfer of funds), and other monetary-related crimes.
White collar criminals also end up in a different type of prison than typical violent criminals or those involved in blue-collar crimes. Violent or blue-collar criminals are typically kept in maximum security prisons where they cannot be a physical danger to anyone else. White-collar criminals are not dangerous to anyone physically, but they pose a threat to one’s welfare financially.
These crimes also have the issue of a lack of physical violence, and there is no physical damage to property. Many people view white-collar crime as a victimless crime since they often involve crimes that are abusing a banking system or tax systems such as federal tax evasion or money laundering.
However, they are not victimless crimes. Much damage is done to someone that the person took the funds from, or financial opportunities are often lost, and dreams are crushed due to these financial or non-violent crimes that often leave people penniless.
King of White Collar Crime
One extreme example of infamous white-collar crime is the investment king, Bernie Madoff. He absconded over $53 billion from various investors over a span of 20 years or so, using their trust in his background and previous experience in Nasdaq and Wall Street to win their confidence.
He holds the record for the most money stolen from individuals on whose investments people depended. They built their dreams and hopes for the future on his investment scheme, never knowing he had never invested real money in any of them.
This would qualify as a “white-collar” crime since it was non-violent and did not outwardly injure a person or their property. However, they were injured in another way by taking away their financial security when he robbed him of this money.
Where Blue and White Collar Crimes Meet
While most money schemes are considered white-collar crimes, picture a robber breaking into a house or a bank and stealing thousands of dollars. This is the very same thing that Bernie Madoff and others have done, except they did not do it in such an obvious manner or break into a property in the way a true robber does. But harm is still done to the victim, and the sometimes irreparable damage that is done does harm people.
White collar criminals are often quite shrewd and intelligent. They know the systems they are dealing with and they know how to manipulate data and do money transfers to hide their activity.
But sometimes you may inadvertently commit a fraudulent transaction crime. If you take out a loan from a bank, for example, and assign a certain account for the payback to be taken from, then you withdraw funds from that account so that the bill cannot be paid, you could be guilty of bank fraud.
This is an example of a white-collar crime. Even if you did not intend to commit fraud, you could still be prosecuted for fraud.
If something like this has happened to you, you need immediate help from a New Jersey attorney such as David Schlendorf Attorney at law in New Jersey. You can get more information on what David can do for you at DTSLawFirm.com.
Don’t risk getting booked with a white-collar crime that could land you in prison or take away your ability to do business in the future. Get ahead of the game and seek legal advice from the professional attorneys at DTS Law Firm.
Whether you are involved in a blue collar or a white collar crime, we are here to help. Call us today to set up a consultation. Your future may depend on it.