Article Review ( Subject: Criminology)

                                              Corporate Crime and Wrongdoing

1: Gordon, Robert, and Ian T. Coneybeer. "Corporate Crime." Canadian Criminology; Perspectives on Crime and Criminality. 2nd edition, edited by Margaret A Jacksoon and Curt T. Griffiths, pp 399-423, © 1995 Harcourt Brace Canada

The article “Corporate Crime” states about nature and scope of corporate criminality in business corporations of Canada. Through this article, there has been revealed a brief interpretation of the business environments where the employees have been thoroughly affected by corporate criminality and their various consequences. Moreover the article also elaborates the attempt enacted by the Canadian government to fulfil the role of managers in these business corporations for controlling such corporate criminality. The article makes us aware of some key findings about corporate criminality in Canada. The first and foremost can be seen to be the fact that corporate criminality has been widespread in Canada under five distinctive sections like crime against national economy, against environment, against consumers of business, against mankind and most significantly against the employees of the business organizations (Gordon & Coneybeer 1995: 400). The effects of such crime is seen to be more alarming than the ordinary street crimes and hampers the national property and the Canadian natives concerned in business physically. The main essence of the corporate victimization is that they keep the consumers in a dark state from where there is less awareness being distributed about the illegal actions taken by these business organizations. Another important facet which Gordon and Coneybeer bring out is that these corporate crimes are done under the facade of unavoidable and unfortunate derivative of economic system. Another important findings of the article as Gordon and Coneybeer find out is the criminal transgression harming individual, society, economy and environment; therefore their inappropriate attitude is not justly represented by Canadian criminal law and the violators mainly deal with outside crime-judicial system. Through this article, the authors bring out poor enforcement of Canadian criminal law in terms of poor Government support for preventing such transgression, unfruitful investigation process through legislation. From the article Coneybeer and Gordon has depicted that Canadian government is a puppet in hands of corporate houses as they influence the investigation process, prosecution and denoting punishments to be imposed for offenders (Gordon & Coneybeer 1995: 419). An important facet which is represented by the author there lays a gap between state’s conjecture of illegality and sentiments of public. in identifying the cause of corporate criminality, the two authors have identified three dimensions to be inter-playing among the organization, individual and social aspects. Most importantly the article suggests that corporate crime is entangled by the personal desires and organizational objectives for benefitting a capitalist economic system in Canada.