Crime of the powerful - STATE-CORPORATE CRIME - A CASE STUDY OF THE GRENFELL TOWER FIRE, Exams of Criminology

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AN ANALYSIS OF STATE-CORPORATE CRIME IN THE UNITED KINGDOM: A CASE STUDY OF THE GRENFELL TOWER FIRE

Table of Contents

• Introduction:...................................................................................................................
• The Grenfell Tower Tragedy.........................................................................................
• The Grenfell Tower Tragedy as a Corporate State Crime:............................................
• The theoretical perspective of Corporate State Crime...................................................
• Conclusion:....................................................................................................................
• References:.....................................................................................................................

Fire Brigade received the initial contact about the incident at 12:54 a.m., and the first rescue truck arrived on the scene within six minutes. However, the fire spread so fast that the firefighters were unable to stop it, and the tower was engulfed in flames within an hour (MacLeod, 2018). The Grenfell Tower Tragedy has been the subject of numerous investigations and inquiries, chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick. The report identified a range of systemic failures and oversights that contributed to the tragedy, including failures in the building's design, construction, and management and shortcomings in the regulatory system (Grenfell Tower Inquiry, 2019). Following this incident, the UK's construction codes and fire safety legislation have undergone considerable revisions. The government declared a ban on flammable materials in high-rise building exterior walls in December 2018, and new laws to increase fire safety standards for high-rise residential structures were enacted in 2020 (UK Parliament, 2020). The Grenfell Tower tragedy was an avoidable calamity that highlighted fundamental flaws in the UK's building and regulatory systems. The disaster prompted a thorough reform of the country's fire safety rules and regulations and a renewed emphasis on maintaining the safety of high-rise structures and their residents. The Grenfell Tower Tragedy as a Corporate State Crime: State-corporate crime is defined as the collaboration of the state and corporate entities in performing unlawful, destructive, and unethical activities that inflict societal harm while making a profit. Kramer, Michalowski, and Kauzlarich (2002) introduced the phrase "state- corporate crime" to characterise the growing pattern of collaboration between the government and companies in the commission of crimes. State-corporate crime is a type of white-collar crime that frequently includes elites and is distinguished by the absence of physical violence (Nelken, 2012). The Grenfell Tower tragedy can be considered a corporate state crime since the government and corporations played a part in establishing the conditions that led to the disaster (Preston, 2019; Tombs, 2012). It was the result of a conspiracy between the government and corporations. The state offered regulatory protection and reward companies, which resulted in the relaxation of building safety requirements and the prioritising of profit over people. This permitted the use of less expensive, unsafe substances in the building's cladding, and the lack of maintenance and safety precautions resulted in the devastating fire (Edkins, 2019; Tombs, 2020).

According to the evidence in the Grenfell Tower case, the fire may have been started by a number of things, including the use of flammable cladding materials and a breakdown in the building's safety systems (Grenfell Tower Inquiry, 2019). These problems were directly tied to governmental and business actions, such as the decision to employ less expensive, less secure materials and the inability to uphold safety requirements (Cooper and Whyte, 2018). Tombs (2020) argues that the Grenfell Tower fire was the result of state-corporate violence, where the state was heavily implicated in the tragedy due to the UK government's policies of deregulation, austerity, and privatisation, which led to the undermining and neglect of safety regulations and social housing. The government's cost-cutting efforts, particularly the adoption of less expensive and more combustible cladding, led to the fire's quick spread and high death toll. The government's slow and ineffective response to the disaster revealed the state's complicity in corporate violence and its failure to protect its citizens. Examples include the lack of emergency services, inadequate support, and reluctance to hold those responsible for the tragedy accountable (Tombs, 2020). According to Edkins (2019), the Grenfell Tower fire was not just a building failure or an accident but rather the result of larger social, political, and economic forces, such as the state's austerity, deregulation, privatisation, and marginalisation policies. The government's response to the disaster was inadequate and failed to address the tragedy's underlying causes. Tombs, S. (2020) makes a similar case that the Grenfell Tower fire was an instance of state- corporate violence, where the state's policies of deregulation, austerity, and privatisation contributed to the disaster and its aftereffects, including the lack of accountability and justice for the survivors and the bereaved. Additionally implies that the firms responsible for the catastrophe did not accept responsibility for their deeds and were not made to pay for the harm they created. Tombs, S. (2020) makes a similar case that the Grenfell Tower fire was an instance of state-corporate violence, where the state's policies of deregulation, austerity, and privatisation contributed to the disaster and its aftereffects, including the lack of accountability and justice for the survivors and the bereaved. Additionally implies that the firms responsible for the catastrophe did not accept responsibility for their deeds and were not made to pay for the harm they created. Corporate state crime is a notion that emphasises how businesses and the government may collaborate to put profit over people's security and welfare. Recognising the Grenfell Tower catastrophe as a corporate state crime would help us better understand the systemic problems that led to the disaster and act to prevent future occurrences of this type of tragedy.

was caused by systemic failings in governance, legislation, and social services that disproportionately impacted marginalised and disadvantaged communities. Incorporating social murder theory into Marxist criminology (Matthews, 2011) and social disorganisation theory (Bellair, 2017) provides a supplementary approach that emphasises the structural inequalities and power imbalances that drive the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The social murder theory provides an in-depth description of the events, emphasising how structural issues, rather than individual actions, were the core cause of the tragedy (Scott & Hamlett, 2019). In conclusion, The Grenfell Tower tragedy can be understood as a form of social murder because it was a preventable disaster caused by structural and systemic issues within society that prioritized profits and neglected the safety and well-being of marginalized communities. Conclusion: The Grenfell Tower fire was a tragic event that claimed the lives of 72 people and left hundreds more displaced. It was caused by a combination of factors, including poor building regulations, inadequate fire safety measures, and systemic failures in governance, regulation, and social provision. The Grenfell Tower fire has been labelled as a corporate state crime because it was a preventable disaster caused by government policies and corporate practices that prioritized profits over the safety and well-being of residents. Additionally, it has been classified as a social murder because it was a predictable and preventable outcome of social and health inequalities that have been exacerbated by neoliberal policies and austerity measures. Following the Grenfell Tower disaster, there has been increasing scrutiny of government housing policy and business practises, as well as calls for greater responsibility and justice for the victims and survivors. The tragedy has served as a striking reminder of the need of prioritising the safety and well-being of all members of society, especially the most marginalised and vulnerable.

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