There is, however, an important collection of criminal
offenses that reflects a different pattern. The offenses I have in
mind—bribery, extortion, fraud, tax evasion, perjury, obstruction
of justice, false statements, insider trading, and various regulatory
and intellectual property crimes—tend to be committed without
violence; the harms they cause are often diffuse; and the victims
they affect are frequently hard to identify. For lack of a better
term, and while recognizing its contested nature, I will refer to
this rather loosely defined “family” of offenses as “white collar”
crimes.