White-collar Criminals: Characteristics And Mental Traits

It was the sociologist Edwin Sutherland who first coined the term white-collar criminals in 1939. He defined it as ” a crime committed by a person with respect and high social status during his professional life”.

It is not easy to understand why someone in a prosperous position would commit financial crimes that ultimately hurt many people. They do not need anything. Why do they do it? However, it is also difficult to understand the reactions of large sections of society to this type of crime. In fact, people tend to classify it as a simple case of over-ambition.

In most societies, these types of crimes have been committed since ancient times. In fact, various studies have been conducted on the subject. With this study, they have established that the profile that characterizes the criminal offender in most cases corresponds to the profile of a psychopath.

Antisocial personality disorder

Antisocial personality disorder or APD is a condition found in both sociopathy and psychopathy. What distinguishes the sociopath from the psychopath is that the former has the opportunity to feel remorse and establish ties with close people. On the other hand, the psychopath is unable to feel guilt and uses others to achieve his goals.

Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a persistent predisposition to antisocial behavior. An example of this is the permanent violation of social and legal norms in society.

People with this type of disorder lie, cheat and scam others for their own benefit or just for fun or pleasure. This ends up in criminal behavior and forms the core of white-collar criminals.

The profile of white-collar criminals

White-collar criminals are usually someone who possesses skills or at least knowledge. They usually have a good reputation. They are successful, refined and often both charming and charismatic. However, this is all a facade. In fact, it is a planned and calculated plan on their part.

they simply do not understand why cheating or lying is reprehensible

Research suggests that psychopathy is the result of an interplay between biological, social and psychological factors. In fact, it is only the confluence of these three factors that can give rise to this condition.

Characteristics of the psychopath

Among the psychopath’s dominant traits is the establishment of empty, superficial and artificial relationships. Furthermore, they need to observe others to interpret their behavior so that they can mimic the kind of emotions they simply do not have.

Their inability to love, cry or laugh causes them to falsify these feelings. The only kind of “empathy” they experience is utilitarian. They “feel empathy” to camouflage themselves in society and thus go unnoticed.

Even if you know what the social norms and laws are, you usually only use them when it suits you. However, the psychopath not only sets his own rules, but they also try to control the lives of others.

In most cases , they appear to be charming people, even charismatic. Still, deep down they are manipulators. Furthermore, they are quite intelligent and often resort to lies to seduce and capture potential victims.

However, they tend to pretend to live a completely normal life. They are also very careful and strategic when assessing the risks associated with their criminal activities. For this reason, it is quite difficult to take the mask off of them, except when they are making a notable mistake or committing a violent crime.

Promotion of psychopathy

Unfortunately, in some professional settings, the psychopath enjoys some recognition, and even arouses admiration. In fact, it seems that society values ​​the ability of these people to exploit the weaknesses of the system to their advantage.

Aspects such as risky behavior, inability to feel remorse, the ability to manipulate and the pursuit of success at any cost are valued positively. Thus, psychopaths or white-collar criminals can achieve success in their criminal career in the short term.

In addition, the catastrophic “success” model implemented in some societies tends to elevate the qualities of the psychopath. This is because people in general are not aware of the real consequences of their actions. In fact, they tend to only realize their mistakes when it’s too late, and they have become victims of abuse of power. The typical example is dictators.

A permissive legislation

It is worth noting that in most countries, criminals receive special treatment when they are punished for their crimes. The legislation tends to distinguish between the ordinary criminals and white-collar criminals, placing the latter in a favorable position.

In many cases, the corruption of the institutions concerned, combined with lax laws, means that the perpetrator of these crimes does not pay an exemplary penalty. For this reason, many experts consider these criminals to be the most dangerous.