NCJ Number
140465
Journal
Police Journal Volume: 66 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-March 1993) Pages: 95- 103
Date Published
1993
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This analysis of environmental law enforcement in the United Kingdom, the United States, and several European countries concludes that in countries that are more environmentally conscious than the United Kingdom, society perceives environmental offenses in the same manner as traditionally accepted forms of criminal activity.
Abstract
As a result, societal and political pressures have resulted in a regulatory tier of enforcement and control that is reinforced by police agencies. Where this has occurred, police agencies have found themselves involved in the investigation and prosecution of serious offenses involving the illegal storage, transportation, and disposal of hazardous, toxic, and solid waste. In the United Kingdom, regulation and enforcement of environmental laws occurs in a fragmented and uncoordinated manner through many regulatory agencies acting at both national and local levels. The police do not conduct criminal investigations into serious environmental offenses. In the United States, Federal regulatory authority exists in the Environmental Protection Agency, but civil enforcement and controls are mainly the responsibility of individual States. Federal and State police agencies now consider environmental crime to be a policing priority. Twenty-nine States now have environmental crime units. Among countries in the European Economic Community, environmental awareness varies widely, with some countries more environmentally conscious than British society. If British attitudes should change, the police will probably become more involved in the enforcement of environmental laws. 19 reference notes