Date of Award
Spring 5-16-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department/Program
Criminal Justice
Language
English
First Advisor or Mentor
Heath Grant
Second Reader
Katarzyna Celinska
Abstract
Red-collar crime is an understudied phenomenon that occurs when white-collar crime turns into physical violence and/or death (also known as fraud-detection homicide). Frank S. Perri, coined the term red-collar crime following his study of 27 homicides that occurred at the same time as or before the deadly white-collar criminal occurrences. This study explores the generalizability and practicality of this definition as applied to a new set of cases. Using a case study analysis of six cases this study analyzed the behavioral characteristics of these offenders meeting Perri's definition; Characteristics such as entitlement, lack of empathy, power orientation, rationalizations, exploitations, and a general disregard for rules and social norms were all found in this sample in alignment with Perri’s theorized matrix. This study affirms the similarity of red-collar offender behavior to street-level criminals suggested by Perri. Practical considerations and suggestions for future research are provided.
Recommended Citation
MacDonald, Kortni, "Red-Collar Crime: The Field Re-Examined" (2022). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/245
Included in
Criminology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons