ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the tentative and partial statement of some of the theoretical considerations presented by a study of white-collar crime. It deals with violations of Office of Price Administration regulations in the Detroit wholesale meat industry and is part of a larger study of law and social differentiation. The chapter considers the objective basis on which white-collar offenses are to be considered as criminal, whether an act committed without deliberate intention is to be regarded as criminal and significance of white-collar offenses for current criminological theories. It also considers a characteristic of these offenses which distinguishes them from usual crimes and which has special significance for the community. A white-collar offense is defined as a violation of law regulating business, which is committed for a firm by the firm or its agents in the conduct of its business. The Emergency Price Control Act and the Second War Powers Act provided a variety of sanctions in the case of violations.
