Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2758
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Item A Tale of Two Crimes: An Analysis of Criminal Sentencing of White-Collar and Street Offenders(2015) Testa, Alexander; Simpson, Sally; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Though a long-standing history of scholarship has sought to understand the potential for disparities in criminal punishment based on ascribed status characteristics, contemporary research has largely ignored the ways in which punishment outcomes varies across offenders convicted of offenses traditionally viewed as either white-collar or street crimes. Using data from United States federal district courts from fiscal years 2008-2010, this research expands upon current knowledge by comparing embezzlement and larceny offenders in federal criminal courts across a variety of punishment processes and outcomes. The findings suggest a substantial degree of variation in punishment severity between embezzlement and larceny offenders across modes of punishment. Generally, the question of whether white-collar offenders are treated severely, leniently, or about the same as compared to non-violent property offenders is largely dependent upon the outcome of interest and the specific types of offenses included in the analysis.Item The Deterrent Effects of Ethics Codes for Corporate Crime: A Meta-Analysis(2009) Schell-Busey, Natalie Marie; Simpson, Sally S.; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The current financial crisis, brought on in part by the risky and unethical behaviors of investment banks, has drawn attention to corporate crime, particularly on the issue of how to prevent it. Over the last thirty years, codes of conduct have been a cornerstone of corporate crime prevention policies, and consequently are now widespread, especially among large companies. However, the empirical literature is mixed on the effectiveness of codes, leaving them open to critics who charge that codes can be costly to implement, ineffective, and even criminogenic. In this dissertation I use meta-analysis to examine the evidence regarding the preventative effects of ethics codes for corporate crime. The results show that codes and elements of their support system, like enforcement and top management support, have a positive, significant effect on ethical-decision making and behavior. Based on these results, I propose an integrated approach toward self-regulation founded on Braithwaite's (2002) enforcement pyramid, which specifies that regulation should primarily be built around persuasion with sanctions reserved for situations where a stronger deterrent is needed.Item Exploring the Relationship Between Profit-Squeeze and Occupational Safety and Health Violations(2005-05-05) Schell, Natalie Marie; Simpson, Sally S; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)One challenge for corporate crime scholars has been to distinguish criminal firms from non-criminal firms. A common explanation for this distinction is that offending companies are more economically troubled than firms that offend less or not at all. This study examines the relationship between firm characteristics and crime by focusing on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations. Specifically, this research applies a profit-squeeze explanation to account for OSHA violations using a cross-sectional analysis of 77 companies for the time period 1993-2000. Results indicate mixed support for the profit-squeeze argument at the firm level using a variety of financial performance measures. Analyses also reveal that union membership was related to OSHA violations.