Chapter one deals with the disasters that occurred in Aberfan and Grenfell. In the Welsh pit village of Aberfan, there were 144 deaths (116 of which were children at school) as a result of slippage from the coal tips surrounding the areas of habitat and education within the proximity. Corporate crime and the lack of prosecutions or attributable blame are duly exposed in this study. So too is the social harm that was inflicted as a result of the National Coal Board's negligent management of the Merthyr Vale Colliery and its lands.

The Grenfell disaster resulted in 72 deaths as a malfunctioning fridge-freezer caused a blaze that swept through a tower block of flats in London. Policy questions about safety regulations allow the case study to provide an unwelcome insight into the inequalities in Britain that should not have come about, particularly when the piece considers austerity and the resultant policy impacts on social housing and expenditure costs. Poignantly, it is argued that these impacts have formed a strong demonstration of how the incident at Grenfell should be construed as an economic State crime and thus be prosecuted as such.

Overall, these two case studies collectively represent a clear example of what can occur when the lessons of history are ignored. In both studies, potentially fatal issues with health and safety in the United Kingdom were brought to the attention of those in authority and were subsequently ignored as the victim's interests were not considered to be as expedient as the dominant corporate interest. While both these cases can be and often are referred to as disasters, it is important to note that – as will become apparent – there was potential for both to be avoided. Warnings were issued in both circumstances and were not heeded. Communities were seen as dispensable and profit was put before safety and human lives. Crucially, both studies reveal the atrocious attempts by government agencies to obfuscate or delay ensuing inquiries and reports. Indeed, such inexcusable behaviour amply demonstrates the fact that the perpetrators of these social harms were aware not only of what they had done but also of how these events affected their image and the image of official governance.