Tracking Data on Corporate Offenses: The Long Road Toward a National Database

Despite research and policy efforts over the years to develop a comprehensive data system for white-collar crimes, there has never been a published article that chronicles them. In this paper we describe these efforts, emphasizing specific findings and recommendations from our 2015 report, funded by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, on building a national database for corporate offenses. We summarize recently proposed Congressional legislation, based on our recommendations, to establish the development of a national database for tracking these offenses over time. Noting other recent moves within the federal government in this direction, we conclude that, despite the continuing lack of such a database, the trend towards it has been positive over the past several decades.