Assessing attitudes and beliefs towards white-collar crime, fraud and corruption in Ireland
Authors
Rice, Elaine
Issue Date
2016
Degree
Higher Diploma in Arts in Psychology
Publisher
Dublin Business School
Rights holder
Rights
Items in Esource are protected by copyright. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/copyright holder.
Abstract
The recent and ongoing economic crisis has forced new attention on white collar crime and how leniently it is prosecuted by the criminal justice system. How white-collar crime is perceived by the Irish public is of great importance in informing legislators. While in the past white-collar crime may have been viewed as fairly harmless, especially in comparison to street crime, the unprecedented effects of austerity measures have since challenged that view. This research conducted a statistical study through online questionnaire with the aims to identify attitudes and beliefs surrounding the seriousness of white-collar crime while reviewing for correlations with the variables of age, gender, level of education and ethical positions. While no significant correlations were found, the results nonetheless revealed attitudes and beliefs surrounding the seriousness of white-collar crime that equalled that of street crime. Author keywords: White-collar crime, fraud, corruption