Final answer:
White-collar crime is the term for offenses committed by individuals of high social status during their professional activities, often involving financial fraud or embezzlement. These crimes, while potentially more damaging than street crimes, may result in minimal legal consequences for the perpetrators due to their social position.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term for crime committed by persons of high social position in the course of doing their jobs is known as white-collar crime. These crimes can include acts such as embezzlement, insider trading, and fraud. White-collar criminals often utilize their international power and social status to commit crimes that can have wide-reaching effects on society.
For instance, Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, which resulted in approximately $50 billion in losses, is an example of a significant white-collar crime. While street crimes often involve violence or theft and garner a lot of media attention, the costlier and often more damaging white-collar crimes can go under-punished or unnoticed due to the social standing of those involved. This underscores the complexity of social and legal responses to different types of deviance and crime.
Sociological perspectives on crime, such as those proposed by C. Wright Mills and related to the concept of the power elite, might argue that the rules of society are disproportionately favorable to those at the top, allowing them to commit crimes with minimal consequences. This can be seen in cases like the comparatively light sentences received by NFL players convicted of domestic violence, reflecting the imbalances within the justice system when it comes to prosecuting and sentencing based on social class.