Indeed, administrative sanctions, which affect the effective costs of businesses, are often sanctions which have an even stronger preventive effect than criminal sanctions: the person in charge of a business or a company is unlikely to consider the risk of being arrested or of facing criminal sanctions when a tragedy occurs, while on the other hand, it is preferable if he or she is obliged, on a daily basis, to consider the higher expense that polluting processes entail.
Souvent, en effet, les sanctions administratives, qui touchent les coûts effectifs des entreprises, ont un effet préventif encore plus fort que la sanction pénale. Le responsable d'une société pense rarement aux risques d'être arrêté ou d'encourir une sanction pénale quand une tragédie a lieu.