ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the crimes committed by high-status individuals in the context of their profession, and crimes committed by powerful organizations and corporations. In the case of crime and criminal justice, the use of power can redraw the line of legality and acceptability in the interests of some but not others and privilege their position so they stand above criminal investigation and prosecution. The American criminologist Edwin Sutherland was notable not only for his work on the idea of the professional criminal, but even more so for his elaboration of the idea of ‘white-collar crime’. Medical practitioners have expertise and autonomy that can facilitate their engagement in the frauds and fiddles of white-collar criminality. Like health professionals, lawyers and accountants may also be seen as trustworthy ‘safe hands’ but they occupy positions in which it is easy to act in an unscrupulous fashion and abuse trust.
