The role of prosecution in achieving compliance with social regulation is a highly contentious issue. Nowhere is this more so than with regard to work related injury and death in the New South Wales mining industry. In the mining industry interactions between inspectors and the regulated industry are frequent and ongoing and trust is central to constructive relations between them. Through a case study of the mines inspectorate over a 20 year period the article demonstrates the centrality of trust to regulatory effectiveness, how it can be lost and how it can best be regained.