Developmental trajectories of white-collar crime

The criminal career paradigm represented a successful shift in criminological thinking, and ensuing research has generated important descriptive information about the key dimensions of active criminals; spurning both theoretical (developmental/life-course criminology) and methodological/statistical advances. Yet, the paradigm has failed to take into account acts of criminality that do not fit into the stereotypical image of street offending, in particular white-collar crime. The current study utilizes group-based trajectory modeling to examine trends of criminal behavior in a sample of convicted white-collar criminals over a more than 10-year follow-up period. Three offender trajectories are identified (low rate, intermittent, and persistent offenders) and suggest the importance of recognizing the variability of offending in a white-collar crime sample, and the overlap between white-collar and common crime criminal careers. This study also suggests the importance of recognizing both static and dynamic factors in the understanding of criminal careers. This research confirms a heterogeneous view of white-collar crime which recognizes that the white-collar crime category includes within it a broad diversity of offenders, and suggests that it is important to recognize that different models of explanation may be needed to provide explanations for different types of offenders.