ABSTRACT
This chapter examines several highly influential contributions made by Edwin H. Sutherland on particular types of "breakers of laws"— or criminals— as well as some key factors in making of laws, and differential reactions toward the breaking of laws. It reflects the significant range of Sutherland's criminological contributions. The chapter introduces an account of Sutherland's 1939 address on white-collar crime, and has acknowledged the significance of his pioneering book, published ten years later. It documents some core contributions of Sutherland to the criminological enterprise. White-collar crime can be distinguished from ordinary crime on the basis of the status of the offenders, their access to legitimate occupations, the common presence of an organizational form, and the extent of the costs and harmfulness of the crimes. Sutherland's theorizing on the causes of white-collar crime is an area where he was not concerned with highlighting the differences, but rather with emphasizing the commonalities, between predatory and business crime.
