There are many different types of crimes
that fall into the category of white collar crime. You have crimes such as, embezzlement, various
types of fraud, cyber-crime, and the list goes on. With these various types of crime,
there are also different types of laws and regulations for each crime.
One
of the most common crimes is identity theft. According to the official California
legislative information, penal code §529, anyone who falsely impersonates
another by either his/her private or official capacity and assumes that person’s
identity through the means of (1)if one becomes bail or surety before a court
or officer authorized to take that bail or surety for any proceeding; (2) uses
the name of another person to verify, publish, acknowledges, or proves to be
someone else in a written manner; (3) does any type of act such as, being
liable for any suit or prosecution, having to pay any sum of money, forfeiture,
or penalty, or have any benefits by falsely impersonating one’s identity. Doing
any of the above can have you prosecuted by a fine that does not exceed ten
thousand ($10,000) dollars, imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one
year, or both the fine and imprisonment.
The
state of California clearly defined what is meant by identity theft. By
impersonating another person through any type of means from above will have
consequences. The laws and regulations written for identity theft are flawless,
in my eyes. It contains the right amount of information that is needed. There
are many types of white collar crime and in order to have a strong penal code
against every crime, they broke them up into its own code. This is why the
penal code for identity theft is well written. The only thing that should change
is the punishment. The punishment for identity theft is either imprisonment or
a fine, or possibly both. The fine is only up to ten thousand ($10,000) dollars
and imprisonment is only up to one year. Why would that stop a criminal from
continuing to steal or sell someone else’s identity?
Work Cited
Official
California Legislative Information. Penal code. (n.d.). Retrieved
from http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayexpandedbranch.xhtml
It appears to me that identity theft is a crime that is increasingly on the rise. Based off of the consequences you discussed, it appears that it is treated as a misdemeanor crime rather than a felony based on the punishment not to exceed one year in a county jail. Since the punishment for a felony is over one year in a state prison, it seems that the law is not keeping up with the crime. Identity theft has taken on new forms with the increased use of the internet and it seems that the punishments are not keeping pace with the crimes. Thanks for the info
ReplyDeleteDominic,
DeleteYes it is unfortunate that California only takes the identity theft crime as just a misdemeanor, according to the punishment. I do agree with you that identity theft is on the rise as one of the more popular type of crime as far as white collar crimes. This type of crime is rising so quickly, I think faster than legislation can. So, with that said, I think that is why legislation isn't as harsh as it should be.
I like your topic but for some reasone I think this was focused more on Identity Theft than explaining what white collar crime really is.
ReplyDeleteAamir,
DeleteThere are many types of crime that fall into the category of white collar crime. I went ahead and decided to post legislation about one of the more popular crimes that seem to occur more often than others would like to. Having information about how the punishment is, maybe we can all come together and fix the issue at hand. Having harsher punishments on white collar crimes could possibly stop more identity theft from occurring. If I were to name off every crime there is that fall under this category, I wouldn't be writing a blog but more of an essay.
I agree with you that the punishment should change because these criminals get off very easily for the harsh crimes they commit. These crimes aren't focused on as much as they should be. They do impact peoples life in negative ways. What do you think the punishment should be for these criminals?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what the punishment should be, but I do know they need to be harsher than what they currently are. I think that fines and/or jail/prison time should be increased. They should also pay a restitution fine for whomever they have affected. People get their credit scores tampered with or money stolen from them and they should have the opportunity to gain that all back easily. They are victims, who should have been more aware, but nonetheless are victims of a crime that is growing.
Delete