Report No. 29
Conclusion
169. Problem of crime a complex one.-In the end, we should emphasise that the problem of checking crime in general, and of white-collar crimes in particular1, is a complex one. It is much wider than the form and content of the penal law, or the placing of its provisions. The inhibitions which prevent a person from committing crime generally may have their origin in various factors which contribute to the emergence of conscience and the creation of a sense of guilt2. The sanctions imposed by the penal law constitute only one species of those inhibitions.
1. Para. 7, et. seq., supra.
2. Cf. Barbara Wooten Crime and the Criminal Law (The Hamlyn Lectures, 15th series), (1963), p. 23.
170. Causes of crime.-Crime is not a legal problem; it is a social and economic one. The sanctions which can effectively operate to check crime are not legal only. As has been observed1-
"Among the basic elements in any culture are social values. These have been developed out of the historical experience of each society. Experiences and behaviour patterns which have brought the group satisfaction are positively valued. Experiences which have brought dissatisfaction are negatively valued. Sanctions are set by the society designed to "encourage approved behaviour and discourage disapproved behaviour. These sanctions are embodied in the folkways, mores, conventions, religious ideals and taboos, public opinion, and laws of a society, and may be promoted through education. Every society has to decide what kinds of behaviour shall be discouraged through law, and what kinds by appeal to other sanctions. We have seen in our society a great reliance on law and yet a considerable disrespect for many laws. Criminology is, strictly speaking, concerned only with acts which are made punishable under the criminal law."
1. Taft and England Criminology, (1964), p. 275.
171. When we consider the question of preventing the commission of a particular class of crimes, the matter becomes still more complex, because then one has to consider not only the criminal instinct in general, but the more detailed question as to why the desire to commit the crimes of that particular class arises.
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