Hartung-Burgess Debate

SHORTLY AFTER Edwin H. Sutherland helped introduce the world of criminology to the topic of white-collar crime, a number of pioneering research studies soon followed. In their own unique way, each of these studies attempted to resolve the definitional controversies surrounding the white-collar crime concept.

Some criminological researchers sought to refine Sutherland's early definition by narrowing the scope of white-collar crime and focusing on a limited number of offenses. Comparatively, other criminologists took the concept of white-collar crime and tried to expand it, arguing that the term could apply to even a greater number of offenders and offenses.

Beginning with the pioneering work of Sutherland, early criminologists recognized that white-collar crime is difficult to study, regardless of how it is defined. While researchers focusing on violent or ...