The Geography Of Environmental Crime

This book critically examines both theory and practice around conservation crimes. It engages with the full complexity of environmental crimes and different responses to them, including: poaching, conservation as a response to wildlife crime, forest degradation, environmental activism, and the application of scientific and situational crime prevention techniques as preventative tools to deal with green crime. Through the contributions of experts from both the social and ecological sciences, the book deals with theoretical and practical considerations that impact on the effectiveness of contemporary environmental criminal justice. It discusses the social construction of green crimes and the varied ways in which poaching and other conservation crimes are perceived, operate and are ideologically driven, as well as practical issues in environmental criminal justice. With contributions based in varied ideological perspectives and drawn from a range of academic disciplines, this volume provides a platform for scholars to debate new ideas about environmental law enforcement, policy, and crime prevention, detection and punishment.

Huge quantities of natural resources are illegally harvested and their proceeds laundered in the Asia-Pacific region, fostering corruption and undermining environmental governance. Most illegal exploitation and pollution occurs in countries with poor governance capacities, but much of the sale for profit and money laundering occurs in mature markets with well-developed governance capacities. Their asymmetrical enforcement capacities can complement each other. This book explores ways to combat illegal fishing and logging in Asia-Pacific region by the use of cooperative legal measures, particularly anti-money laundering and confiscation of proceeds techniques. Contributors to this volume cover themes including: the nature of transnational environmental crime; patterns in laundering of illicit fish and forest products; networks for distribution of illicit products; weaknesses in current systems for assurance of the legality of products; and international legal cooperation to enforce anti-money laundering laws in relation to illicit products. In considering these topics the book explores how the innovative use of anti-money laundering measures and the seizure of criminal proceeds can as policy options to combat transnational fishery and forestry crimes. The book will be of keen interest to scholars and students of environmental law and criminal law, and excellent use for practitioners in natural resources conservation law.

This book examines the role and practical dynamics of governmental environmental law enforcement agencies and individuals who combat environmental crime. It will inform researchers about the 'real world' experiences of practitioners and provide an intellectual space for practitioners to examine critically what it is they do and why.

This collection is the first exploration into green crime in Mexico, offering a unique critique of the environmental problems facing Mexico today. Written by a diverse range of Mexican academics and practitioners from different career stages and various different disciplines, this edited volume exposes the corruption, power, and disregard for the environment through highly detailed and engaging case studies. The chapters are grouped into four categories: Environmental Degradation, Social and Environmental Justice, Wildlife Trafficking, and Non-compliance with Environmental Obligations, and are illuminated by rigorous original research. This book fills a substantial gap in knowledge about concerns that are important not only to the Mexican people and the wider region, but to anyone with an interest in the environmental issues facing the world today. To this end, the contributors hope to inspire other Mexicans to study and research green crimes as well as to influence scholars and practitioners across Central and South America who are facing similar environmental crises and challenges.

This book presents original research into contemporary geographical aspects of the study of crime. The contributors, drawn from different disciplines within the social sciences and from various countries, give a review of the subject which provides a valuable insight into the geography of crime. Their approaches range from the behavioural to the environmental, and the crimes dealt with include violent crime and residential burglary. The book examines data sources, discusses different crimes and ways of studying them and considers the fear of crime. The criminal justice system in the UK is examined in detail, including policy, the operations of community and police committees and an account of the experience of crime prevention policies in Britain and North America is also given.

Crimes associated with the illegal trade in wildlife, timber and fish stocks, pollutants and waste have become increasingly transnational, organized and serious. They warrant attention because of their environmental consequences, their human toll, their impacts on the rule of law and good governance, and their links with violence, corruption and a range of crossover crimes. This ground-breaking, multi-disciplinary Handbook brings together leading scholars and practitioners to examine key sectors in transnational environmental crime and to explore its most significant conceptual, operational and enforcement challenges.

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.

Over the past ten years, the study of environmental harm and ‘crimes against nature’ has become an increasingly popular area of research amongst criminologists. This book represents the first international, comprehensive and introductory text for green criminology, offering a concise exposition of theory and concepts and providing extensive geographical coverage, diversity and depth to the many issues pertaining to environmental harm and crime. Divided into three sections, the book draws on a range of international case studies and examples, and looks at the conceptual and methodological foundations of green criminology, before examining in detail areas of environmental crime and harm, and how they are addressed, including: climate change and social conflict; abuse and harm to animals; threats to bio-diversity; pollution and toxic waste; environmental victims; environmental regulation, law enforcement and courts; environmental forensic studies; environmental crime prevention. Green Criminology is packed with pedagogical features, including dialogue boxes, case examples, discussion questions and lists of further reading and is perfect for students around the world engaged with green criminology and crime against the environment.