Crime And Environment

"Yingyi Situ and David Emmons in Environmental Crime address a neglected area in Criminology and Criminal Justice and do so with masterful attention to details of environmental law, law enforcement, enthralling examples and up-to-date cases. Well-written, scholarly and incisive in its commentary and stellar in organization, their work will be well received by both undergraduate and graduate students." - Frank E. Hagan, Ph.D., Chair, Graduate Program in Administration of Justice, Professor of Sociology/Criminal Justice, Mercyhurst College, Pennsylvania We and our environment are at risk. Air, water, and soil pollution, hazardous waste disposal, global warming, acid rain, and reduction of the ozone layer threaten the natural environment and endanger people's health. Within the last decade, however, environmental violations have been defined as crimes and violators viewed as criminals; and criminal prosecution of the accused and criminal sanctions against the convicted have accelerated. This accessibly written book examines the criminalization of environmental wrong-doing. Designed as a textbook for environmental crime courses at the undergraduate or beginning graduate levels, it is comprehensive and logically organized. The text explores the nature, causes, investigation, prosecution, and prevention of environmental crime. Special emphasis is placed on the human, economic, social, and psychological impacts of the environmental crime by corporations, criminal organizations, the government, and individuals. Although examples throughout the book reflect not only North America but the world, a final chapter is devoted to global environmental law. The chapter also reviews promising approaches being used by other nations in fighting environmental crime.

Environmental crime is arguably the most vital and destructive crime of the 21st century, especially in the light of climate change and shifts in social, economic and ecological circumstances that will accompany global warming. This two volume set explores the nature and dynamics of environmental crime and investigates a variety of topics including illegal fishing, poaching, wildlife crimes, animal abuse, climate change and ecocide as well as crimes related to waste, energy and contamination. Together with an original introduction by the editor, this collection provides researchers and students alike with a comprehensive overview of crimes pertaining to the environment.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to and overview of eco-global criminology. Eco-global criminology refers to a criminological approach that is informed by ecological considerations and by a critical analysis that is global in scale and perspective. Based upon eco-justice conceptions of harm, it focuses on transgressions against environments, non-human species and humans. At the centre of eco-global criminology is analysis of transnational environmental crime. This includes crimes related to pollution (of air, water and land) and crimes against wildlife (including illegal trade in ivory as well as live animals). It also includes those harms that pose threats to the environment more generally (such as global warming). In addressing these issues, the book deals with topics such as the conceptualization of environmental crime or harm, the researching of transnational environmental harm, climate change and social conflict, threats to biodiversity, toxic waste and the transference of harm, prosecution and sentencing of environmental crimes, and environmental victimization and transnational activism. This book argues that analysis of transnational environmental crime needs to incorporate different notions of harm, and that the overarching perspective of eco-global criminology provides the framework for this. Transnational Environmental Crime will be an essential resource for students, academics, policy-makers, environmental managers, police, magistrates and others with a general interest in environmental issues.

Environmental crime is one of the most profitable and fastest growing areas of international criminal activity. The increasing cross-border scope of environmental crimes and harms is one of the reasons why governments and the enforcement community have trouble in finding the proper responses. Law enforcement cooperation between western industrialized states is often time consuming and problematic, and the problems increase exponentially when environmental criminals take advantage of situations where government and law enforcement are weak. This book provides an overview of the developments and problems in the field of transnational environmental crimes and harms, addressing these issues from perspectives such as enforcement, deterrence, compliance and emission trading schemes. Divided into four parts, the authors consider global issues in green criminology, responses to transnational environmental crimes and harms, alternative methods to combat environmental crime, and specific types of crimes and criminological research. Discussing these topics from the view of green criminology, sociology and governance, this book will be of great interest to all those concerned about the transnational dimensions of crime and the environment.

Environmental criminology is a generic label that covers a range of overlapping perspectives. At the core, the various strands of environmental criminology are bound by a common focus on the role that the immediate environment plays in the performance of crime, and a conviction that careful analyses of these environmental influences are the key to the effective investigation, control and prevention of crime. Environmental Crime and Crime Analysis brings together for the first time the key contributions to environmental criminology to comprehensively define the field and synthesize the concepts and ideas surrounding environmental criminology. The chapters are written by leading theorists and practitioners in the field. Each chapter will analyze one of the twelve major elements of environmental criminology and crime analysis. This book will be essential reading for both practitioners and undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses in this subject.

Crimes Against the Environment explains the seriousness of the threat posed by pollution, its roots, how it has evolved, how it differs across the planet, and how society has endeavored to create and enforce laws directed at its control. Rebovich and Curtis begin with an overview of hazardous waste, the industries that produce toxins, available methods of waste treatment, and the legal environment of environmental crime. They examine the forces driving criminal behavior and the methods offenders adopt, as well as protections against polluters and their effectiveness. The book concludes with an examination of environmental justice in the United States and globally, and looks ahead to the future of crime control and prevention in this arena. Case studies and discussion questions offer further perspective on these challenging issues of environmental integrity. This text serves undergraduate or early-stage graduate students majoring in criminal justice, environmental science, sociology, and political science, and could also serve as a resource for professionals in environment-related occupations.

A careful analysis of environmental factors is key to understanding the causes of crime, to solving crimes, and eventually helping to predict and prevent them. Classics in Environmental Criminology is a comprehensive collection of seminal pieces from legendary contributors who focus on the role that the immediate environment plays in the occurrence

The study of how the environment, local geography, and physical locations influence crime has a long history that stretches across a number of research traditions. These include the neighborhood-effects approach developed by the Chicago school of sociology in the 1920s; modern environmental criminology that explains the geographic distribution of crime; the criminology of place, which focuses on crime rates at specific places over time; and a newer approach that attends to the perception of crime and disorder in communities. Aided by new mobile and digital technologies as well as improved data reporting in recent decades, research in environmental criminology has developed at a rapid pace within each of these approaches. Despite these advances, research in the subfield of environmental criminology remains fragmented, and competing theories are often kept apart. This book takes a different approach and integrates the subfield as a whole. It covers the core theoretical and empirical issues of how and why the environment influences the emergence of crime and how crime can affect the environment. The chapters reflect the diversity in research and theory from all over the Western world. In addition to covering traditional criminological research, the book probes how well current theories of environmental criminology contribute to our understanding of new problems and how well theories travel to other areas, such as West Africa, in which cultural differences might lead to different patterns in offending.