5. Policing the Environment

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this lecture, we think about the policing of green crimes, focusing in particular on: (i) issues in training which mean that regular police forces are often ill-equipped to enforce wildlife and environmental crimes; (ii) the role of charities and non-governmental organisations, such as the RSPCA, in filling gaps in the policing of these crimes; (iii) the similar issue within the justice system of lawyers and judges lacking the expertise to address green crimes, and the argument that specialist environmental courts are required in order to handle these cases properly.

Course

In this course, Dr Angus Nurse (Nottingham Trent University) explores green criminology and crimes against wildlife and the environment. In the first lecture, we introduce some key definitions, concepts and areas of interest within green criminology. In the second lecture, we focus on wildlife crime, illegal animal trafficking, and how the use of animals is legally regulated. In the third lecture, we consider climate change and pollution as areas of criminological interest. Next, we turn to environmental crimes and harms committed by corporations. In the fifth and final lecture, we look at how green crime is policed and whether regular police forces and justice systems are equipped to handle wildlife and environmental crimes.

Lecturer

Dr Angus Nurse is Head of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Nottingham Trent University. His research focuses on crimes against wildlife and the environment, corporate crime and criminal justice. His recent publications include Wildlife Criminology (2020) (co-authored with Tanya Wyatt), The Citizen and the State: Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties in Conflict (2020) and An Introduction to Green Criminology and Environmental Justice (2016).