Corporate Offending: Are the harms caused so different as to justify the unequal levels of prosecution and scrutiny?

There exists a significant disparity between the harmful consequences of corporate crime and the level of scrutiny and attention it receives from both the media and the criminal justice system (CJS). Somewhat understandably, it is both logistically and evidentially harder to put a company on trial. However, it does not follow that this therefore justifies the paucity of sanction and penalty. This article will argue that corporate crime is being treated more favourably by the CJS when compared with other types of crimes despite causing comparable harms to individuals and communities. Part I outlines and explores the more lenient treatment, evidenced by low conviction rates and high number of settlement deals, that is borne partly from entrenched prejudicial narratives about what real crime is. Part II will argue that corporate crime should be treated with the same level of seriousness and urgency.