The conduct of man as we all know, since ancient times has always worried scholars and has always been of study and criticism. The scholars of the matter study human behavior from a clinical perspective and from a legalistic perspective, for that reason it is said that criminology is a science that is not exact. The law, using these perspectives, concludes that behaviors are criminal and which are not. Hence, scientists try to formulate their reasons why certain people violate the law.
According to the beliefs and their needs, speaking of society, we could say that it is legal or illegal. Although we have that the penal code has firm notions of evil and good, noting that not everything that is morally wrong is criminal and some acts that are not generally considered bad can be penalized.
The corruption and bribery are evils that affect not only the public sector. Private organizations are also frequently the victims of unfaithful employees who do not maintain integrity. In many cases, organizations tend to focus their efforts on detection and investigation and do not allocate sufficient resources to prevention; this is more expensive and less effective.
What is the crime of "White Collar"?
Virtually seven decades have passed since sociologist Edwin Sutherland (1940) introduced the concept of white-collar crime, and marked the beginning of controversy and debate. Considerable energy and time have been invested in trying to define a mutually agreed framework of interpretation for white collar crime, but the result has been limited consensus.
Continuing disagreement on how to define and examine it has led to some suggesting that white-collar crime is "a lion's cage with no way out" (Hirschi and Gottfredson, 1989: 363). Based on studies published mainly in North America and the United Kingdom, this document again refers to some areas of different interpretation regarding white collar crime. We begin by examining the answers to the question of how to define it. Next, the identification and comparison of two perspectives on white collar crime, and the areas of significant difference between these in analytical emphasis and interpretation. Specifically, we will examine the differences between essential crime and white collar crime;the level of care provided to victims and the costs of white collar crime; as well as the importance of structural dynamics, power and choice in causal explanations.
Some scholars define the crime of White Collar, those criminal offenses committed by subjects of high social status, using as tools their professional knowledge, or their contacts in the world of business, politics, etc.
The concept of “white collar” crime has been strongly rooted in the lexicon of laymen and scholars, where it is used to denote a type of crime that has a series of fundamental differences with respect to street crime.
While the latter is often committed by physically addressing victims or entering their homes or businesses illegally, most white collar crimes are committed through the use of malice, deception or falsification, to create and exploit the appearance of a legitimate transaction in order to obtain an illicit benefit. White collar crime presents a wide variety of appearances, from toxic spills to industrial espionage.
It also includes the crime committed by state officials and agencies. Fraud, which is often defined as the use of deception to secure an unfair or illegitimate gain, still accounts for a large proportion of white collar crimes.
The result of the studies carried out caused a revolutionary impact, since it allowed us to glimpse with evident clarity, the errors and contradictions in the penal system, forcing us to face certain underlying problems, such as deviant behavior in the different social layers, breaking with fiction that considered crime as the exclusive heritage of the lower class, thus revealing a hidden truth, a “black” figure that is not measured by the usual indicators of crime, discovering that criminal law was applied differently and selectively.
Characteristics of this type of crime:
Although a crime, in any of its forms, is a “typical, unlawful and guilty act”, this type of crime is distinguished from the rest by certain characteristics:
Injury to trust in the commercial sphere.
– El uso de la credulidad o ignorancia de la víctima.
– Especial astucia y conocimientos por quienes preparan el ardid.
– La circunstancia de que la sociedad tenga conciencia de la ilicitud del hecho, pero no de su trascendencia criminal.
– Imagen de honorabilidad del autor, normalmente debido a su posición social, estudios, profesión o situación económica y/o política.
– Cercanía estrecha al poder económico o político.
– La escasa visibilidad del delito.
– La volatilización de la cantidad de victimas.
– Falta de estadísticas criminales.
– Alto costo patrimonial en los perjuicios hacia los damnificados
Although there is no univocity in terms of terminology, we can affirm that they all refer to the same criminal type: "professional crimes", "occupational crimes", "financial crimes", etc.
One of the main drawbacks with those who try to study this type of crime, is given because the statistics at the international and even regional level are flawed, since there is no relationship between the number of crimes committed and the sentences applied to their authors.
It is important to note that these people are not usually easily detected by the control, supervision or supervision bodies and their appearance of honesty means that they can perfectly camouflage themselves in society, since they normally have an activity that allows them to function in an environment professional or commercial of a certain prestige.
The crime of "white collar", although it has special characteristics, is still a common crime, that is, conduct prohibited by the State against which the State reacts by means of punishment.
It should be noted that in the case of Cuba there is no criminal figure that includes the concept of “white collar crime”. This is just a qualification in which a group of criminal offenses that have as their central axis the patrimonial affectation caused to the State could well be grouped.
Characteristics of the so-called "white collar" offender
There are different theories that try to explain the behavior of the "white collar" offender. In our work we have taken the most relevant of each one, trying an approach towards a description of the active subject that perpetrates this type of illicit.
Theoretical basis developed from the psychic characteristics of someone who is considered a criminal
Materialism: he only gives value to material goods, he is a true maniac, his pathological tension is released with profit, he has a psychology similar to that of the compulsive gamer.
Egocentrism: they do not manage to achieve affectivity, they compensate for this loneliness by showing themselves economically generous.
Narcissism: they are proud, unstable, and this translates to their social situation, they are usually very bold.
Dangerous: they do not value ethical limits.
Hypocrisy: They are cold and generous and accommodating.
Neurotics: lack of guilt awareness, because these acts do not provoke a social reaction, since there are people who do not consider them crimes.
It is noteworthy that today, this type of criminal is not considered a sick person, so his punishment is perfectly applicable.
Criminal training includes both the teaching of techniques to commit simple or complex offenses, as well as those necessary to "guide impulsive tendencies".
The set of values from which criminal behavior manifests does not explain its reason for being, but depends on the specific contacts to which the subject is exposed in his social or professional environment.
In this way, if a person is surrounded in his work environment by subjects who violate the law on a daily basis, this situation is taken as "normal" due to the habitual conduct, later, the individual will be tempted to imitate these activities, either to achieve economic objectives, or to mark a status within the structure.
Profile of the crime of “white collar”
“White collar” crimes have a series of difficulties for their treatment, such as the lack of efficient control agencies, in the administrative sphere there are no specialized prevention personnel, and in the judicial sphere, sometimes the specialization for your investigation and repression.
Due to the characteristic of the crime, the active subjects leave the category of primary, becoming habitual, perfecting the maneuver, avoiding the action of Justice due to the complexity of the act committed.
The crime of “white collar” is a scourge that, with the advancement of technology, communications, and the significant increase in commercial transactions, has grown exponentially, which is why it must be combated by efficient, modern and collective mechanisms that make it possible an effective prevention, and in case of its real commission, a quick investigation that ends in the conviction of the offender.
The main studies on the so-called "white collar crimes" determine that there are three elements that are present in most of these cases. Perhaps one of the most important is rationalization.
Through this resource, the author of the crime finds a way to assimilate the act to his "own code of ethics".
Ethics programs have proven to be very effective in preventing employees or officials from being tempted to commit dishonest acts; therefore, its implementation is considered an essential prevention measure.
How Prevention can become a natural blocker of these criminal modalities?
Regardless of the economic and political model that is established, the State represents the power of the nation, and in that sense, it has a commitment to its citizens and therefore is called to preserve its heritage, not only from the economic point of view, but also in the field of their culture and on the political level.
Our work has as its guiding axis the work of prevention, in the early knowledge of pre-criminal attitudes, in the concentrated effort in solving these attitudes through the differentiated attention of each case.
The Internal Control System with a focus on prevention, is aimed at guaranteeing the functioning of organizations in optimal conditions, the fulfillment of their objectives and avoiding damage to the means at their disposal. In this system, the broad participation of workers in the evaluation of existing risks and the different measures to be applied to prevent their occurrence is necessary.
In Cuba, the idea of Prevention Plans arose from practical work, from the work carried out during the years 2001 - 2002. Its conception starts from the possibilities of the Cuban political system and is one of the Guidelines of the State and the Government to intensify the prevention and confrontation actions to the manifestations of indiscipline, illegalities and administrative corruption, approved since 2000, which has had successive updates.
The indications for its elaboration and systematic control in each Organism, Administrative Entity and labor collective, are regulated by Resolution 13/06 of the then Minister of Audit and Control. This legal instrument, whose most immediate antecedent is the same Resolution issued in 2003, was modified and updated, taking into account the accumulated experience.
It is, therefore, a legal regulation whose preparation, updating and checking of its effectiveness, is mandatory for all labor organizations at any level of management of public bodies and councils of territorial administration.
In this concept, the Prevention Plan is a set of actions of an ethical, technical-organizational and control nature, consciously aimed at eliminating or reducing to the minimum possible, the causes and conditions that lead to indiscipline and illegalities, which continued and in a climate of impunity, they promote and facilitate manifestations of corruption.
They constitute essential elements in the plans, the actions aimed at awakening in the labor groups and in the people, human, moral and ethical motivations; cultivate attributes, especially honor, shame, and dignity. The actions of a technical-organizational nature are based on the need to achieve a comprehensive, coherently structured work system, in which, starting from the State Commission or Corporate Purpose, the organizations have duly defined the mission, objectives and establish a system of control that takes into account the functions and powers of the collegiate management bodies and a clear delimitation of individual and collective responsibilities, within the framework of knowledge and respect of legal regulations.Control actions are aimed at achieving preventive measures and must order a set of tasks among which the different levels of execution and control are precisely identified.
A procedure has been designed for the preparation of the Prevention Plan in which the constitution of a commission or working group, made up of leaders and officials with knowledge and experience at their level, capable of assisting the management body, stands out. standing out those who are in charge of the audit units, attention to work with managers, legal, attention to the population, inspection, security and protection, among others. The compilation, organization and study of the background and information that is possessed, is a decisive element in guiding the process of identifying potential risks and dangers, in the interest of observing trends and problems that are repeated in the reports contained in the results. of government controls, fiscal verifications and inspections, audits, state supervision, work balances, complaints and denunciations of the population, approaches of the workers, states of opinion and others.
The analyzes with the workers by areas, in order to diagnose the risks, potential dangers and the proposed measures to prevent them, must also be preceded by information and orientation actions that promote a favorable climate that encourages prevention., in search of causes and the willingness to establish barriers that prevent its occurrence or development. The Plan, containing vulnerable points, possible manifestations, measures to be taken, executors, dates and those responsible for control, is a design that aims to become a working instrument that facilitates its systematic execution and control. It must be constantly submitted to its updating and to the evaluation of its compliance and effectiveness.
Recognizing the importance of prevention as a fundamental strategy implies understanding it as a way of acting, a culture that provides the ability to anticipate problems, a proactive attitude in each task, mission or goal that the economic organization draws up.
Fostering the exemplary nature of managers and officials constitutes the fundamental premise for the exercise of public office in an ethical environment, due to its multiplying and mobilizing nature towards the rest of the subordinates; which reaffirms more and more the need to preserve ethics as an essential element of politics, as a guide and guiding thread of government management.
In Cuba, Marti's precept "the Homeland is ara and not a pedestal" means using the authority and power that the people grant - and for which they must respond every day - as an honor and commitment to contribute to the collective work, which it is to develop a just society in complex and adverse conditions, but on solid foundations, developed throughout the revolutionary process. Although the preservation of the ethical principles that have shaped a genuine political and ethical culture in our country is the responsibility of the entire people, those who represent it at different levels of leadership and hold state and government functions have a duty to act in accordance with these principles as the only way to legitimize them, both in the performance of the position and in personal life.
The accountabilityIt is the action, as a legal and ethical duty, that every official or person has to respond and report on the administration, management and performance of funds, assets or public resources assigned and the results in the fulfillment of the mandate that has been conferred on him, thus as well as other aspects of interest that are necessary. The accountability system must include all the elements that allow citizens to know the destination of common resources and guarantee them the best possible use of these to satisfy public needs. Accountability must ensure that everyone assumes full responsibility for their actions, reporting not only on the objectives to which the resources entrusted to them were allocated, but also on the form and result of their application,without forgetting the importance of the ethical component in its performance and conduct.
The accountability of the leaders and officials is associated with the determination of responsibility in case of poor administrative management, negligence and omissions in performance, for which different types of responsibility are applicable, according to the seriousness of the acts. The focus of accountability and responsibility in Cuba is in correspondence with the doctrine of horizontal and vertical accountability and its main instruments in its double character: on the one hand, those who are accountable and are obliged to report and on the other hand, those who hold accounts, fundamentally the workers, who participate in the transcendental decisions of the company and society.
The Central of Cuban Workers (CTC), in addition to holding the organizations and entities accountable for the results of their management, works with the trade union movement and its affiliates in the fight against crime and corruption, aiming to: inform and explain the causes and conditions that propitiate such events, as well as define the actions to be taken by all workers for their prevention, detection and confrontation.
In the Resolution on the battle for economic efficiency and business improvement adopted at the XVIII Congress of the CTC, it is stated that “the grassroots union organizations will have the mission of demanding from the administrative directorates and contributing, in turn, themselves, to carry out the actions agreed upon by the labor group, with the aim of increasing resource savings, labor productivity, quality, labor and technological discipline, as well as other aspects that contribute to increasing efficiency ”and“ the union organization will require the administration so that internal control and accounting reflect the economic facts of the workplace in a rigorous and real way… ”
More recently, the XIX Congress of that workers' organization, in its resolutions, spoke about the growing role of workers in the battle for the prevention and confrontation of indisciplines, illegalities and manifestations of corruption, for which it is necessary to improve and to develop the process of information to the labor groups with greater breadth and efficiency, in relation to the results of the audits. Another form of popular participation in administrative and state management is given by holding the production and service assemblies that take place periodically in all the country's work centers. The utility and efficiency of these assemblies reside in that they represent an adequate way of controlling, from below and by the workers,the work of the administrative management.
Union representation on the boards of directors of economic organizations is an important way for workers to participate in economic management.
In the CTC Resolution referring to the Collective Labor Agreements, the principle that said agreements constitute the legal document that registers the concertation of duties and rights of the parties, understood as the administration and the workers, represented by the labor union. Two of the rights regulated in the aforementioned agreements are that of participation in decisions that affect the collective and that of control of administrative management.
The firm political will of the Cuban State to develop a strategy that contributes to the hierarchy of the control function focuses on the full deployment of the following factors:
- The exemplary nature of managers and officials, their administrative responsibility and absolute honesty.
- Systematic accountability as a fundamental pillar for evaluating the results of its management and the state of control over resources.
- The real participation of workers and their union organizations in all management processes.
- Planning as an instrument for efficiency and implementation of internal control systems appropriate to the characteristics of labor organizations.
- The definition of the general regulatory mechanisms of the economy, in order to determine the legal order and the indispensable institutional assurances.
- Recover the value of work as the main criterion for distribution, recognition, satisfaction of needs and social differentiation.
- Knowledge and respect for legality, with the utmost rigor in demanding compliance.
- Reaffirm prevention as the fundamental strategic direction for tackling administrative corruption.
In Cuba, the state control function is not exercised solely by the institutions. It is a system in which both the organs and agencies specialized in such functions, as well as the workers and their organizations in each of the work locations, the community and civil society as a whole are interwoven. It is a process in which the State - Civil Society dichotomy is broken, since political power begins to be built and its functions to be exercised on the basis of the interests and direct participation of the classes and social sectors traditionally excluded. At the same time, this logic of shaping state power became its socialization, based on the high degree of political participation achieved by civil society.
