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Myths and Realities of Deterrence in Workplace Safety Regulation

NCJ Number
244981
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 53 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2013 Pages: 746-763
Author(s)
Steve Tombs; David Whyte
Date Published
September 2013
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examines deterrence in neo-liberal crime control policies, it is remarkable that this concept remains absent from the study and practice of corporate regulation.
Abstract
Given the proliferation of the use of deterrence in neo-liberal crime control policies, it is remarkable that this concept remains absent from the study and practice of corporate regulation. The paper explores this absence in the regulation literature, highlighting a series of widely accepted myths about deterrence in this literature, myths that have also been reproduced in British policy debates. Having discussed the enduring, if hidden, adherence to deterrence across this literature, the authors then go on to discuss the significant absences of deterrence and, in doing so, the authors focus specifically upon the dynamics of law enforcement, as it applies in the case of UK workplace health and safety law. The paper concludes that only through a careful consideration of the politics and praxis of law enforcement can we adequately grasp the context of the regulation of workplace safetywhat the proper place of deterrence is and how it might be better secured. (Published Abstract)