Overview
Criminal Justice 425: White–Collar Crime and Investigation, a three–credit, senior–level course that examines the increasing and costly non–violent crimes perpetrated within the Canadian business environment. You will be introduced to the major current perspectives within the field of financial investigations, and the theoretical principles and applications of financial investigative techniques. These discussions will include information on accounting procedures, methods of tracing funds, banking and financial record–keeping, and interviewing as applied to detecting and resolving financial crime.
Criminal Justice 425 begins by examining those activities that are defined as white–collar crime, meaning that they involve intentional deception and are enabled by the occupational status and power of the offender. This type of criminal activity includes the offences of fraud, theft, money laundering, and they can occur in a variety of occupational settings including large corporations, publicly traded companies, or various levels of government. There are often elaborate attempts to avoid detection. Perpetrators are often investigated and prosecuted using similar white-collar crime investigative procedures and legal measures. In this respect, you will be introduced to the white-collar crime investigative process and to the global dimensions of this type of criminal activity.
Outline
Criminal Justice 425: White-Collar Crime and Investigation comprises twelve units as follows:
- Unit 1: Defining White-Collar Crime
- Unit 2: Studying White–Collar Crime
- Unit 3: The Impact of White–Collar Crime
- Unit 4: The Law of Fraud in Canada
- Unit 5: Money Laundering in Canada
- Unit 6: Policing White–Collar Crime
- Unit 7: The Fraud Investigation
- Unit 8: The Forensic Accountant's Investigation
- Unit 9: Contemporary Scams and Frauds
- Unit 10: White–Collar Crimes: Case Studies
- Unit 11: Forensic Accounting: Methods and Techniques
- Unit 12: Challenges, Issues and Opportunities in Responding to White–Collar Crime
Evaluation
To receive credit for CRJS 425, you must achieve a grade of at least 50 percent on the course assignments and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1 | 10% |
| Assignment 2 | 10% |
| Assignment 3 | 20% |
| Assignment 4: Essay | 30% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Croall, Hazel. (2001). Understanding white collar crime. Buckingham, United Kingdom: Open University Press.
Other Resources
All other learning resources will be available online.