In almost all legal disputing, formalities are employed as a last resort. This book presents a new theory of decision-making, exploring the conditions under which prosecution is employed to handle occupational health and safety problems. It is a valuable resource for students and scholars of law, regulation, socio-legal studies, criminal justice, sociology, and political science.
I. Formalities 1. Themes, Perspectives, Questions 2. Organizing Ideas: Surround, Field, Frame 3. Formal Structure and Practice 4. Pre-Trial Prosecution Processes II. Surround 5. Environments III. Field 6. Prosecution Policy 7. Images and Symbols 8. Prosecution as Organizational Behaviour IV. Frame 9. Enforcers' Theories of Compliance and Punishment 10. The Social Construction of Blame 11. The Instrumental Frame: Will Prosecution be Effective? 12. The Legal Frame: Can a Case be Made? V. Conclusion 13. Reflections Appendix Research Methods and Data Sources Index