NCJ Number
173911
Editor(s)
Mary Clifford Ph.D.
Date Published
1998
Length
556 pages
Annotation
Chapters by various authors present an introduction to the study of environmental crime, an interagency approach to the enforcement of environmental protection legislation, the identification of essential connections in addressing environmental crime, and case studies of environmental crime and efforts to counter it.
Abstract
The five chapters that compose an introduction to the study of "environmental crime" define it, review the history of the environmental movement in America, discuss the economics and politics linked to environmental protection, present a social perspective of the natural sciences, and provide an overview of Federal environmental legislation. Five chapters address an interagency approach to the enforcement of environmental protection legislation. They focus on the Federal environmental regulatory structure, State and local environmental enforcement, policing the environment, environmental-crime prosecution at the county level, and sentencing the environmental criminal. The five chapters on the identification of essential connections in countering environmental crime distinguish five types of environmental criminals and discuss environmental ethics, criminal law, and environmental crime; the identification of environmental crime; international environmental issues; and current research findings and future research needs regarding environmental crime. The five case studies presented involve community opposition to hazardous waste incineration (ENSCO case), legacies of the past and projections for the future in hazardous waste regulation, a plea bargain in a case of environmental crime (Rocky Flats), controversy surrounding the reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act, and environmental crimes at the U.S.-Mexico border. In closing comments, the book's editor notes that the chapters presented represent only one editor's vision of several critical areas of environmental crime and countermeasures that require further study. Because research on environmental crime and the nature and effectiveness of countermeasures is in its infancy, the shaping of future research directions should have high priority. Subject index and appended glossary, important environmental activities, criminal sanctions outlined in Federal environmental legislation, environmental legal cases, and environmental crime investigations for law enforcement officers