NCJ Number
240164
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 52 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2012 Pages: 997-1016
Date Published
September 2012
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the rationale for criminalizing work-related deaths in the United Kingdom that have resulted from violations of regulatory laws.
Abstract
This paper addresses the movement towards criminalization as a tool for the regulation of work-related deaths in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the last 20 years. This can be seen as reflecting dissatisfaction with the relevant law, although it is best understood in symbolic terms as a response to a disjunction between the instrumental nature and communicative aspirations of regulatory law. This paper uses empirical data gathered from interviews with members of the public to explore the role that such an offence might play. The findings demonstrate that the failures of regulatory law give rise to a desire for criminalization as a means of framing work-related safety events in normative terms. (Published Abstract)