Crime: Need vs Greed investigates the true cost of white-collar crime, and whether we can do better for our most vulnerable.
The lowdown
Tim McKinnel wants to challenge our idea of what a criminal is in his new documentary Crime: Need vs Greed. The former detective and private investigator (known for his work in helping overturn Teina Pora’s murder conviction) delves into the impact of white-collar crime in New Zealand, asking why we talk more about traditional crimes like burglaries and drug deals rather than the corporate thefts – driven by greed – that cost New Zealand billions of dollars each year. “I’m worried that we’re locking up the needy and ignoring the greedy,” he says.
Crime: Need vs Greed looks at a variety of white-collar crimes, from complex investment fraud to smaller scale insurance scams. McKinnel talks to a variety of community experts about whether being “tough on crime” works, and how the prison system fails to support vulnerable members of our community, particularly Māori and Pacific Island people. It’s a thought-provoking documentary that ends with a clear answer to McKinnel’s questions: to get tough on crime, you need to get tough on poverty first.
The good
This is a documentary of two halves, with the first looking at the impact of white-collar crime on society, and the second considering the role poverty plays with crime. It’s pulled together by McKinnel as he highlights the inconsistencies between how the courts punish…
