NCJ Number
215751
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 46 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2006 Pages: 875-892
Date Published
September 2006
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the “punishment model” versus the “compliance school debate model” in the area of regulating corporate violations, and demonstrates that in the area of workplace health and safety, the debate on corporate offending has evolved with the shift to regulation through individual responsibility.
Abstract
The “punishment model versus compliance school debate” is the term used in the dichotomy that has developed on how to regulate corporate violations. Presently, the compliance school debate has become the dominant model of regulatory enforcement. The compliance school model is premised on cooperative models of persuasion, education, strategies of self-regulation, and the belief that prosecution should be a last resort. However, this debate continues to evolve and the compliance school model should not be considered the natural evolution of regulatory enforcement, since cultural values play an important factor. In the area of occupational health and safety, it has been illustrated that the punishment model versus compliance school debate has been transformed and has evolved with the shift to regulation through individual responsibility. Workers are required to enforce regulation by policing their own hazards while, at the same time, increasingly becoming a target of regulation. This shift has resulted in a diffusion of responsibility over workplace safety risks and a blurring of responsibility between employers and employees over who is responsible for unsafe conditions found inside the workplace. The shift to regulating through individual responsibility in health and safety brings forth the need for continued debate and future research by both punishment model scholars and compliance school researchers. References