Snell, K (2017) A Critical Analysis of Victims' Experiences and State Responses to a Corporate Killing. Doctoral thesis, Liverpool John Moores University.

Preview

Text 2017snellphd.pdf - Published Version Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

An explicit starting point for this research is to give a voice to the experiences of the victims of safety crime. The accounts of such victims are missing from the criminal justice arena and academia. This research will attempt, in part, to fill the gap in the following ways. First, the longstanding separation between safety crime and ‘real’ or ‘traditional’ crime is both reflected and institutionalised through state responses to the offences committed by corporations. This research offers a critical analysis of the social, legal and political obstacles that victims of safety crime face. Second, the effect of this process on secondary victims is examined. The deaths of their loved ones are, in the first instance, framed as ‘accidental’. The families are an obstacle to the corporations, as they seek to hide or manipulate the truth in the pursuit of their innocence. This is enabled by legal and political processes, which make justice an almost impossible achievement. The thoughts of the families and the long-term impact this has on their lives is explored in detail. The final part of this research is focused on the aims, nature and success of the various groups created in response to the reaction of the criminal justice system following a corporate killing. The visibility of the corporate accountability movement, mounted from the late 1980s against the victimisation of workers, raises questions for future research. It concludes with a discussion of how this situation has altered and the potential site for change in the future. Safety crime in the UK and worldwide, is a regular occurrence, yet popularly and politically, safety crimes are comparatively invisible. Through the experiences of secondary victims, who are neither represented nor treated as real victims, this thesis offers an original contribution to the understanding of how this happens, the effects and the response.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Safety Crime; Crimes of the powerful; Corporate crime; Secondary victims; State responses
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology
Divisions:	Humanities & Social Science
Date Deposited:	14 Nov 2017 15:29
Last Modified:	14 Dec 2022 11:53
DOI or ID number:	10.24377/LJMU.t.00007476
Supervisors:	Jamieson, J
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/7476

View Item