Paper Example on Occupational Crime: Joel Morehu-Barlow "The Tahitian Prince"

Introduction

Various scholars have tried to explain the reasons behind the nature of criminal behavior and the causes of crime. The major premise that guides are that a crime can be caused by various economic, social, psychological, biological and political factors. This recommends that there's not a single point of view controls the field of criminological. The resulting debates have featured standard theories, that center around enlightening the bond between the legitimately identified crimes and the social surroundings which they belong, and also the critical theories related to these theories. This paper will show the application of two of the approaches to reveal insight into Joel Barlow's case. These theories are; the general strain theory and the routine activity theory. The arguments will be used to clarify reasons behind the white-collar crime. After defining this, I will then present future prevention recommendations.

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Case Overview

Various media articles are accessible that describe the crimes and accounts of records that Joel Morehu-Barlow committed; the material that Elks wrote in (2013) in the Australian, offers the most comprehensive reports on the crime. Barlow swindled QHS of not less than $16.69 million. The occurrence denoted the biggest extortion in public sector in Queensland. He was born on 13th February 1975 in New Zealand (Elks, 2013), as the firstborn alongside six other children. During proceedings, the defendant said that Morehu-Barlow's dad was a drunkard who frequently left his kids to seek food for themselves, causing them to wander in the streets hungry. In 2016 Joel Morehu Barlow owed QHS not less than $8 million which is still going up. It was likewise noticed that Barlow had committed other crimes way before he moved to Australia, to be specific he had taken advantage of his position in that company stealing more than $32,000 and was given a nonresidential sentence of eight months. (Elks, 2013).

As shown above, Barlow came into public spotlight following his blame for defrauding the QHS. Todd Fuller (Elks, 2013), who was the prosecutor, stated that the fraud began in 2007 after Barlow successfully wrapped small sums of money from QHS. These occurrences weren't detected, making Barlow become extra positive about how he could to steal considerable more substantial amounts. This went on until November 2011. This was when Barlow used $11 million in just one single transaction (Elks, 2013). This large disbursement led to a mid-level QHS employee becoming suspicious, whereby an ensuing investigation showed that the organization being paid was under Barlow. The Public Prosecutions Director (2012) office incriminated Barlow in 2012. He was charged with two fraud accounts as a worker, two forgery accounts and one account of being in possession of drugs and significant substance.

Barlow has issued a prison term of 14 years. In March 2013 (Elks, 2013). In December 2016 He became qualified for parole. Moreover, because of his case, the Crime and Corruption Commission undertook an intensive audit on QHS (McLeod, 2013). The process started several reforms that were directed towards stopping fraud and enhancing accountability. An extra spotlight is that more investigations were carried outseeing a few OHS employees get fired, whereas others moved to different departments following Barlow's criminal actions.

Description and Review of the Theories

One previously mentioned theories are the 'general strain theory.' This theoretical structure gives an ideal method for bringing light on the objective and subjective stressors and strains frequently prompting criminal activities. Especially, defenders of this concept have a perception of precise stressors, or pressures cause the increment of bad feelings, as an example, frustration and anger in humans (Agnew, 2001). The resulting feelings call for adaptive or corrective responses. The typical response or result of these emotions is a crime. This is usually the state when people lack ideal resources to adapt (Agnew, 1992). Committing crimes in such scenarios this way is a method for reducing the inbred strain in an individual. An example is, the situation when a person steals what he can't afford, managing emotions, e.g., the case when an individual injures another individual as a revenge for harming them or their families, and also alleviating bad feelings, for example, when an individual uses illegal stuff, for example, cocaine or heroin to reduce the negative emotions (Agnew, 2001).

Robert Agnew drew this theory from classical strain theories. This incorporates Robert Merton's theory and Albert Cohen. Similar to these forerunner structures, this theory recognizes the part played by social factors to cause crimes. The only difference is the primary encouragements. This theory likewise perceives new strain clusters. One of the strain classifications is when individual losses positive stimuli in his/her life. It could be brought by the loss of a friend or spouse or a brother/sister. Agnew (2001) likewise detected that a crime might occur when an individual is unable to meet specific objectives. The assessment of the first system put forward in 1992 as well as 2001 structure also reveals how Agnew built this theory to showcase possible attributes of traumatic occasions going to prompt crime. Agnew associated crime with strains of low social-control, occurring stresses and strains creating an enticement for the person to take part in adapting criminal behaviors'.

Concerning the strain theory application to disclose imminence into the event of these crimes, scholars found that the theory can be applied for clarification of the circumstances of these types of crimes. Agnew, Cullen, and Piquero (2009) recommended various strains continually lighting up events of these crimes. This may include failure to meet economic objectives, problems with the economy, a person's powerlessness to achieve his/her position goals, and stressors of a business-related event, (Agnew et al., 2009). The strains together, cause sentiments and frustration in people. The absence of ideal resources required to adapt and moral support, make people commit crimes to try to correct these negative emotions. Agnew et al. (2009) notably proposed that the likelihood of a person undertaking the offense depends upon the presence of comprehensive adapting resources, control, and support from the society, the opportunities to perpetrate these crimes and connections with other culprits.

'Routine activities theory' is the second theory which was suggested to bring close the conditions surrounding and facilitating a crime (Cohen and Felson, 1979). It suggested that crime is likely to occur when three vital components are present. These include; a reasonable or right target comprising of an individual, object or a place. The attributes center on visibility, accessibility, value, disposable, enjoyable, removability and the target's nature (New South Wales State, 2011). The absence of ideal is the second component which includes guardians who can mediate to stop the crime from occurring (Felson and Cohen, 1979). This includes security personnel, law regulation officers, neighbors, observant employees and the CCTV equipment (NSW, 2011). The last component as per this theory is an imaginable guilty party (Felson and Cohen, 1979). The offense, for this situation, has to be spurred to carry out the crime, either by the target's appropriateness or absence of an ideal guardian. This ensuing construct was named the crime triangle (Holtfreter and Walker, 2015).

This theory is used to light up these crimes. Rivers, Cassidy and Gibbs (2013), used the argument to light up the elements that lead to white-collar crimes in legal business associations. Researchers mainly exercised the case to show how crimes occur in the European Trading System (Gibbs et al., 2013). According to (Gibbs et al. (2013), the system hasn't been able to free itself from crime because of the presence of formations that support and encourage corruption. These include suitable targets, motivated criminals, and absence of ideal guardians.

Application of the Theories

Strain theory can be applied to enlighten the components that spurred Barlow to carry out crime. It states that specific strains and stressors cause pessimistic emotions, of which without ideal adapting aptitudes, prompt crime, (Agnew, 2001). The downbeat anxiety or aggressor in Barlow's life was 'poverty.' He originated from an exceptionally low-income family that made him accept the accountability of raising his siblings from an extremely young age. It's important because Agnew (2001) observed that a person could carry out a crime to get things that he can't afford. The inclination to steal whatever he couldn't pay for was extended to his workplace in New Zealand as well as the OHS (McLeod, 2013). The longing to overcome his poverty incited Barlow lie he was a Tahitian prince hence stealing to subsidize his new status. Barlow's attorney featured that, he relinquished his crime life after moving to Australia. When his sibling committed suicide in 2001, this spurred new depressing emotions (Elks, 2001). Hence lacking ideal resources to adapt and cope with this, Barlow returned to crime.

Routine activities theory is the second that centers on above-stated crime triangle. According to NWS, (2011), there are three components which are used to be considered for unity to make crime happen. Barlow, who was the motivated criminal; likely target or the defenseless, the QHS in this situation, and absence of ideal guardians who should have intervened are Barlow's superiors at QHS. Barlow was additionally ready to take risks involved to access company's funds (McLeod, 2013), which brought the likelihood of facing arrest or being fired. The QHS employed Barlow without checking his documents' authenticity, giving him high-rank spots in the finance department and after that Manager, (McLeod, 2013). Note that there were no governing rules in the hierarchy to guarantee that Barlow's effort was over-board. This explains why he could procure his bosses' signatures, modify essential documents like the Capital Funding Agreement, regularly overspend, bully his staff, and attend a half day at work (McLeod, 2013).

The Implications of Theories for Prevention

The strain theory features significant reasons behind a crime. This system proposes that evil can be avoided if these reasons for crime are tended to. If stressors like economic goals blockage, problems with the economy and the inability of people to achieve status goals are absent then ideally this may prevent white-collar crimes. In this case, for example, guaranteeing that Barlow was brought up in a compassionate environment may have stopped the fraud from happening. He shouldn't have had to fend himself. This would perhaps have kept his sibling from committing suicide hence keeping Barlow from going back to crime.

The theory additionally proposes that the response to negative emotions by a person relies upon the societal support, their coping abilities, and the chances to carry out the crime (Agnew et al., 2009). It's therefore important to note that, Barlow lacked ideal adapting abilities thus leaving him to swing to offense whenever he experienced economic or mental obstacles. He did not have a system for social help that could have discouraged him to commit a crime. His fake prince function enabled him to work above social examination; and become provided different positions that helped him openly get and dispense ohs assets, (Mcleod, 2013). Therefore, in this situation, the appropriate crime bar system need to have consisted of specific strategies that concentrate on social foundations that help and impact conduct, the strict...