From the International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd Edition:
The term ‘white-collar crime’ was coined by criminologist Edwin H. Sutherland, who argued that, because the offenses of corporations and white-collar workers are not represented in official crime statistics, scholars misunderstand the nature, causes, and consequences of crime and its control. This article describes how some of the standard topics in criminology – the social organization of offending, victimization, enforcement, prosecution, punishment, and criminological theory – are transformed when one looks in the unconventional places captured by the varied conceptions of white-collar crime. The article also considers the methodological and normative impediments to the study of crime and justice in the suites.