Introduction
Environmental concerns have created significant interests from various stakeholders with criminologists playing a critical role in responding to environmental harms. Environmental criminology applies to wide range of environments comprising of air, water, and land, and major issues such as overexploitation of natural resources and the emission of high volumes of toxic wastes in air, water, and soil. Multidisciplinary approaches have been adopted to help in curbing such environmental crimes whereby ecological, legal, economic, and social implications of the crimes have been analyzed by various stakeholders. Interventions have also led to extensive methods including monitoring, assessing the damage, enforcing legal procedures, and educating the public and corporate worlds on the need for sustainable environmental protection and regulation. Environmental criminology, therefore, plays the critical role of ensuring that short term and long term consequences of crimes are identified and dealt with due to the threat they pose to the global ecosystem.
Discussion
The environment comprises all the elements of nature such as the surface of the earth, water, air, and ecological diversity. Offenses against the identified environmental components pose social problems that are illegal and punishable by law. Additionally, the damage caused by environmental crimes has either direct or indirect repercussions that are manifested currently and in future. The crimes originate from the point of source such as oil exploration in seas or could be diffuse like the case of trafficking of toxic wastes across borders. Furthermore, environmental crimes could have an impact on individuals and groups and are perpetrated by governments, corporations, and individuals.
The negative consequences on the environment, individuals’ health, and natural resources are therefore what make environmental crimes subject to punishment by law. Destruction of physical infrastructure such as buildings, emission of wastes into water, air and soil, reduction of biodiversity through overexploitation and handling of toxic chemical substances are among the major crimes that put the environment at risk. According to White (2005), environmental crimes are forms of selfishness through which large corporations are driven by their desire for profits at the expense of pollution and devaluation of the environment.
Environmental crimes are therefore considered part of the white collar and corporate crimes that require interventions. Major cases of environmental crimes in the context of corporate crimes are documented in the way petroleum refining industry has over the years contributed to water, air and soil pollutants hence raising questions on health and environmental consequences of petroleum refining. Toxic emissions from petroleum refining industries are responsible for cancer-causing agents, cardiovascular illnesses, blood disorders, reproductive disorders, and gastrointestinal toxicity that put the lives of people across the globe in extreme danger. There are major worries among those living near industries as a result of the major environmental corporate crimes as evidenced in a case where CITGO Petroleum Corporation was, on 9th August 2006, found to have violated the Clean Air Act. The federal jury ruled that the company failed to put in place the required emission controls that regulate the volume of benzene released into the environment. It was revealed that CITGO Petroleum Corporation had for over nine years released large amounts of benzene into the air thereby affecting residents living near its site.
Forms of environmental crimes across the globe
Trafficking of endangered species
Trafficking of endangered species is among the common crimes committed in a modern world where over 5,000 animal species and 29,000 plant species face the risk of overexploitation. International trade has increased the threats of extinction since parties have failed to regulate the nature of business transactions. Unregulated export permits have been granted to environmental criminals thereby generating the idea that governments could be involved in environmental malpractices. Trafficking of endangered animals and plant species has witnessed lenient sanctioning hence motivating cartels to continue trafficking products from rare animals and plant species.
Illegal trafficking in waste
Illegal trafficking of wastes is also on the rise and has been highlighted as a major concern by various global environmental reports. Corporations continue to engage in the white collar crime that is under-investigated. The trend shows series of interconnections among perpetrators who illegally traffic wastes or dispose them at relatively lower prices. Additionally, the trafficking of wastes is promoted by incidences of unreported tax evasions and frauds that motivate criminals to continue engaging in environmental crimes. Developing nations are major victims of waste trafficking since they allow over 50 million tons of electronic wastes to penetrate their borders each year. Dumping in water systems is also a common environmental crime committed by firms where toxic chemicals are often released in an uncontrolled way. The local wildlife is therefore at a high risk of ingesting toxic chemicals with the food chain also being at risk due to chemical water leaking into the soil.
Prevention of environmental crimes
Prevention of environmental crimes needs to be applied at individual and corporate level. At the corporate level, top managers have often engaged in undesirable decisions that violate environmental laws. In such cases, it is important to enforce command and control rules as well as self-regulation requirements that require firms to fulfill their social cooperate responsibilities effectively. The command and control interventions require legal authorities to dictate the requirements for compliance, failure to which organizations and individuals are subjected to formal sanctions. Severe punishments such as withdrawal of operating license upon detection of engagement in environmental crimes should, therefore, play role in deterring offenders.
Simpson, Gibbs, & Rorie (2013) for instance call for regular and close inspection plus monitoring of oil spills in coastal waters to prevent uncontrolled pollution. Self-regulatory frameworks are also important in generating internal compliance by organizations where aspects such as effective accountability, monitoring of emissions and making relevant communications are well adhered to. Securing compliance therefore requires accountability and responsibility among organizations at risk of committing environmental crimes since they eliminate the need for sanctions and severe punishments by federal laws or environmental compliance agencies. It is imperative to establish and sustain an individual and organizational culture that is not tolerant to environmental illegalities and which makes every potential environmental criminal to adopt codes of ethics that prove responsiveness and positive compliance to sustainable environmental practices.
Conclusion
Environmental crimes affect societies worldwide and interfere with the stability of economies and national security. Additionally, damages caused by environmental crimes have direct or indirect consequences felt currently and in future. Environmental crimes cause of water, air, and soil pollution in developed and developing societies thereby making it a global tragedy and creating the need for appropriate legal interventions. Thousands of animals and plants species face the threat of extinction, there are increasing cases of skin damages, cancer illnesses caused by environmental pollution. The questions environmental criminologists need to ask themselves are how the crimes are perpetrated, how impacts could be measured, the required prevention and regulatory approaches as well as the punishment that could deter offenders from repeating the crimes. It is important for individuals, corporate organizations, civil societies and governments to work together in identifying ways of making perpetrators visible and prosecuting the offenders in an effort to preserve the sustainability of the ecosystem.
References
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Eurojust. (2014). Strategic Project on Environmental Crime. Hague: Eurojust.
Jarrell, M. (2009). Environmental Crime and Injustice: Media Coverage of a Landmark Environmental Crime Case. The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, 25-44.
Simpson, S., Gibbs, C., & Rorie, M. (2013). An Empirical Assessment of Corporate Environmental Crime-Control Strategies. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1-50. Retrieved from http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol103/iss1/5
Skinnider, E. (2013). Effect, Issues, and Challenges for Victims of Crimes that have a Significant Impact on the Environment. Vancouver: International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy.
White, R. (2005). Environmental Crime in Global Context: Exploring the Theoretical and Empirical Complexities. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 272-287.
