Introduction: A New Look at Environmental Crime

Abstract

The concept for this special edition was conceived during the Green Criminology panel at the European Society of Criminology Conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2009. With contributions from Australia, England and the USA and papers that present techniques for identifying emerging threats, methods for preventing and reducing those threats and a framework for raising the prominence of environmental crime, this edition represents a truly international and multidisciplinary contribution to the field. “A New Look at Environmental Crime”. Environmental Crime focuses upon crimes and harms against the environment and nonhuman animals and encompasses green criminology, conservation criminology and wildlife crime as well as sustainability and climate change. This special edition represents a new look because these papers consider new methods for identifying threats, new approaches to reducing environmental crime and new ways of presenting the problem. Through horizon scanning to highlighting emerging threats, through the application of situational crime prevention techniques to aid prevention and by framing environmental crime reduction in terms of carbon costs to society, the task appears more achievable, and the priority placed upon these crimes/harms becomes more fundamental. This edition of the journal begins with White and Heckenberg’s paper “Environmental Horizon Scanning and Criminological Theory and Practice”. The paper sets out a mechanism for identifying threats that may arise and potential strategies to mitigate or adapt to those threats. Using a selection of examples of key issues within ecoglobal criminology, the authors map out methodological principles and practical measures that can be harnessed to carry out horizon scanning. The three stages of horizon scanning (theorising the causal factors, employing multidisciplinary methods and deliberating on potential policy responses) allow researchers to gather ideas and evidence from a variety of different sources and disciplines to identify where harms and risks are emerging and to develop pre-emptive strategies to prevent future harm. White and Heckenberg conclude by offering a series of recommendations to encourage the academic community to invest more Eur J Crim Policy Res (2011) 17:83–85 DOI 10.1007/s10610-011-9144-0