Technological and Immoral Crimes

Technological crimes are becoming increasingly common as our lives move online. These include hacking, cyberbullying, fraud, and downloading illegal content. What's worrying is that anyone can become a victim, though young girls are often targeted more frequently because they're seen as vulnerable.

The perpetrators vary widely - from foreign governments conducting sophisticated hacks to teenagers cyberbullying their peers. Most cybercrimes don't make headlines unless they're massive scandals. The News of the World hacking scandal in 2011 is a prime example, where journalists hacked voicemails of celebrities and even missing teenager Milly Dowler, actually hampering the murder investigation.

Immoral crimes like paedophilia, rape, and torture shock society because they violate our basic moral standards. These crimes target the most vulnerable - children and women are disproportionately affected. The perpetrators are predominantly male, often seeking power over vulnerable people.

Key Point: Unlike cybercrimes, immoral crimes receive extensive media coverage because "if it bleeds, it leads" - the press knows gruesome stories sell papers.

The case of Dr Harold Shipman, who murdered 15 elderly women by lethal injection whilst trying to profit from their deaths, shows how trusted professionals can commit horrific immoral crimes.

Moral, White Collar, and Corporate Crimes

Moral crimes are tricky because they don't physically harm anyone, yet some people still consider them wrong. Think prostitution, premarital sex, or assisting family suicide. The interesting thing here is that victims and perpetrators can be the same person - a prostitute breaks the law but might also be exploited.

These crimes rarely get reported because many people don't see them as particularly deviant. Kay Gilderdale's case illustrates this complexity - she helped her terminally ill daughter die and walked free because the jury understood her motherly compassion.

White collar crimes happen in offices and boardrooms, where employees or individuals target businesses for financial gain through tax evasion, embezzlement, or money laundering. The public often doesn't care about these crimes because they seem victimless and don't directly affect ordinary people's daily lives.

Corporate crimes flip this around - here, companies harm individuals through bribery, selling unsafe products, or workplace discrimination. The Nestlé infant formula scandal perfectly demonstrates this, where the company marketed formula in developing countries knowing it would be mixed with unsafe water, causing infant deaths and deformities.

Reality Check: Both white collar and corporate crimes receive minimal media coverage because they're seen as boring, even though they can affect thousands of people and involve millions of pounds.