Home > Crime and Punishment in America > White-Collar and Organized Crime

Two major categories of crime attracted considerable attention from the U.S. criminal justice system during the twentieth century and posed far greater costs to society than usual street crime. They were white-collar crime and organized crime. Both involved illegal activities through enterprises. An enterprise is a group of associated individuals such as a business partnership, corporation, or union. The key difference between the two is that white-collar criminals try to profit off of legitimate businesses in a nonviolent way, while organized crime seeks profits through illegal businesses and frequently employs physical...