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Summary

Braithwaite, John (1985). To Punish or Persuade: Enforcement of Coal Mine Safety. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

A study of 39 coal mine disasters suggests that these were the result of corporate crime rather than human error or unstoppable forces of nature. An optimal mixing of punishment and educational measures taken against corporate offenders can reduce injuries to miners. Such an approach would include imposing both civil and criminal penalties, varying procedural safeguards in proportion to the gravity of the sanction imposed, developing a mixed strategy of corporate and individual liability, and creating a diversified arsenal of individual and corporate sanctions that vary according to the situation and attract interest rather than a routine royalty on production.