Economic and Consensual Crime

Economic and Consensual Crime Class 1 - Drugs

Administrative Give quiz Collect paper proposals?

Review Crime as a social construct History of crime Crime waves/crime panics

Today Drug Crime Myths History of Drug Regulation Contemporary Drug Regulation Drug Crime Panic Impact of the drug regulation regime Effect of drugs Sensible drug policy

I. Drug Crime Myths • Can you identify myths about drug crimes? • Distinction between legal drugs and illegal drugs? • Legal drugs and age limits

II. History of Drug Regulation 19th Century Early 20th Century Prohibition Drug policy has remained one of prohibition

III. Contemporary Drug Regulation 1970 Controlled Substances Act (federal) Rockefeller Drug Laws (New York) How Dealers were defined How Did These Laws Work?

III. Contemporary Drug Regulation Later Approaches Federal Sentencing Guidelines Changes in state laws

IV. Drug Crime Panic – Crack Babies Typical crime myth scenario Crack baby hysteria fed by the media Interpretation of the data Served as excuse to toughen laws on crack use

V. Impact of Drug Regulation Regime Impact on drug use Impact of drugs on crime

V. Impact of Drug Regulation Regime Impact on poor and minority communities The “War on Drugs”

VI. Effects of Drugs How dangerous are various controlled substances? To users and to other parties? Compared to various legal substances What is the source of the danger? Nature of the drug problem

VII. Sensible Drug Policy Policy Debates Drug policy choices Law Enforcement Prevention and Treatment

VII. Sensible Drug Policy Drug policy choices Public Health Approach Legalization

Next Time White Collar and Corporate crime Show movie

Economic and Consensual Crime Class 2 – White Collar and Corporate Crime

Administrative • Return Quiz at end • Collect any resubmitted paper proposals • Present and collect journals

Review – Drug Crime • Drugs haven’t always been illegal • Our drug regulation regime is largely one of prohibition – based on myths rather than reality • Most the our drug problems stem less from drugs than from the drug regulation regime • Review – “Dying for a Job”

Today • Definitions • White Collar and Corporate Crime Activities • Extent of Corporate Crime • Why Do Corporations Commit Crimes? • White Collar and Corporate Crime Myth • Corporate Crime and Law Enforcement • Present journals

I. Definitions • What do we mean by “white collar crime?” • What do we mean by “corporate crime?” • What is a corporation? How does it differ from any other company or business? • What is the “corporate crime myth”? How does it differ from other crime myths?

II. White Collar and Corporate Crime Activities • Violation of consumer and worker safety regulations • Anti-competitive practices • Violation of environmental laws • Violation of securities laws • Violation of immigration laws

II. Corporate Crime Activities • Violation of employment and labor laws • Violation of tax laws • Violation of export regulations • Influence peddling

III. Extent of Corporate Crime • Data on deaths from corporate crime versus deaths from street crime • What is wrong with these data? • Extent of the cost of corporate crime • What is wrong with these data?

IV. Why Do Corporations Commit Crimes? • Crimes that are accidental • Crimes that result from ignorance • Crimes that are clearly intentional

V. White Collar and Corporate Crime Myth • Experts claim it covers up two “fundamental truths” • Law Enforcement can do little to control and less to prevent street crime • Total of all violent and property crime is less serious by far than total white collar and corporate crime

VI. Corporate Crime and Law Enforcement • Idea that business is “over-regulated” • Enforcement via “consent decrees” • Relationship of corporations and government

VI. Present journals

Next Time • Begin unit on violent crime

Economic and Consensual Crime