A year ago, on this day a terrible accident took place.  Two trains collided head on: a passenger and a cargo train.  The crash was ferocious, following a massive bright explosion, that was heard for miles.  The official count of fatalities are 57 dead and over 100 injured, some of whom very seriously, one of whom at least on a medically-induced coma.  The term accident implies something that happened unintentionally and unexpectedly.  As the story emerged, different elements came to the surface which indicated that what happened, was not unexpected.  The people who worked in the train service raised the alarm months, if not years in advance, sending official statements to the relevant departments and the minister for transport. There were several accidents months before the disaster and there were calls to correct the infrastructure, including the signalling system.  Several politically motivated appointments in key positions also meant that the people in the organisation at certain levels lacked the expertise and knowledge to work with the complexities of the railways.  The employees’ protests were largely ignored as they never received an official response.  So, was it an accident, a disaster, or a crime? 

I have left the details, names and even the country of the disaster out, for one reason only.  This tragedy can happen in any place at any time and for any kind of people.  The aftermath leaves people wondering why it happened and if it was preventable.  The pain of those who lost loved ones transcends borders, race, and origin.  The question posed earlier remains.  Worldwide we have seen similar disasters some of which have permanently marked the local and international community.  It is the way we deal with the aftermath that will partially answer the question of what this tragedy was.  A disaster goes in deep highlighting questions such as; what do people pay taxes for, what is the role of the State and how important is human life?     

People in position of power were warned about it beforehand.  There were similar incidents that should have signalled that something wasn’t right.  There was underfunding and lack of staffing.  All of these may have happened separately, but considered together, they cannot support this being an accidental event.  It was a disaster waiting to happen.  Then the question is whether this event is a crime or not.  Crime is usually seen as a social construction of individual behaviour in conflict with social conventions.  This focuses crime onto an action by an individual and therefore the motivations and intent focus on the usual gains, opportunity and other personal rewards.  This approach largely ignores an entire section of criminology that deals with harm and social injustices.  A crime of this magnitude has individual actors who for their own motivations contributed to the disaster.  Nonetheless this is something bigger; it encompasses, services, organisations, departments, and ministries.  This is a State crime.  Different parts of the State contributed to the disaster and once it happened, they tried to provide a harried response on an individual’s fault…human error.    

Years ago, in another place the toxic gases of a plant killed and blinded thousands of people; a nuclear cloud was released in another incident and people were made to evacuate their homes for ever.  Some years ago, a fault in a type of plane grounded an entire fleet after a couple of crashes.  A terrible earthquake which revealed errors in construction and design.  Boats full of people sinking and no one seems to take any notice.  A similar picture in most disasters: people looking for their loved ones, feeling powerless in front of a State that took decisions to ignore the risk and the calls of the experts.  So, what does this train disaster, the plane crashes, the boat sinkings and the earthquake destruction have in common?  They are all State crimes.  In modern literature we have learnt to recognise them, identify the commonalities, and explain what a State crime is.  What we haven’t done as effectively is to find a way to punish those responsible.  Each State, like in this train disaster, recoils into providing all necessary information and changing its mechanisms; maybe because for some countries profit is above people, providing of the main intentions behind State crime.  Whilst the State delays, the dead await justice.

In memoriam to the 57 and to the millions of victims of state crimes.