Abstract
Crimes against nature are far-reaching, dangerous and complex. Therefore, efforts to detect and deter environmental crimes should be effective. The purpose of this chapter is a presentation of possible forms of Clark’s model of situational crime-prevention techniques in the field of environmental crime. The proposals are based on the analysis results of the review of detected environmental threats in Slovenia and the consequences that arise in this connection.
Situational crime-prevention has, in combination with rising of people’s awareness on crime and other forms of threats, proved to be quite an effective form of prevention. These are four types of measures – aggravation of access, increasing the risk of the offender, reducing the potential for damage (reduction of perpetrator’s profit) and prevention of excuses that someone did not know that a specific action is unacceptable, prohibited or illegal. These situational crime-preventive aspects of the response to environmental threats represent a novelty in the Slovenian practice of crime prevention methods in the environment protection field. The findings of the debate can be used in the planning of crime-preventive measures with regard to environmental threats. Furthermore, these measures represent a very useful starting point for all further research and development of programs, resolutions and other documents about responding to environmental threats.
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Notes
- 1.
Steinway and Botts (2005: 4) explain that their definition illustrates how the environmental law system is often interpreted to encompass the protection of public health and workers’ safety in addition to the environment. Furthermore, what makes a law or regulation a part of the environmental law system is not its label or original function but the purpose for which is used (for example, the criminal code play important role in the environmental law system, although, its original function has almost nothing with the environmental protection).
- 2.
The legislation prohibits any adverse action as a timely prevention works long term, in the benefit of future generations (Šinkovec 1994).
- 3.
The legal rule provides that any person, which causes damage or delayed hazard and cause injury to the environment, must suffering the removal costs or the costs of removal of negative effects (Strojin 1994).
- 4.
In the protection of the environment a state as well as society or individual operators must be involved. Šinkovec (1994: 164) adds that this is a shared responsibility and cooperation of all concerned in all stages of environmental protection (from planning to confrontation with the consequences of decisions).
- 5.
Individual costs incurred in protecting the environment, are financed from the state budget (Šinkovec 1994: 170). This group also includes specific taxation (potential) agents of environmental disturbance.
- 6.
“Everyone has in the accordance with the law the right to a healthy living environment. The state is in charge for a healthy living environment. For this purpose, the law defines the conditions and ways for the performance of economic and other activities. The law stipulates under what conditions and to what extent the provoker of the damaged in the living environment is obliged to pay the damages. The protection of animals from cruelty shall be regulated by law”.
- 7.
The Act represents a basic legislation in the field of environmental protection in the Republic of Slovenia. It sets out general principles and guidelines for a comprehensive approach, in addition to introducing a series of implementing regulations for the regulation of more specific relationships and concrete examples (Viler Kovačič 2007).
- 8.
Nature Conservation Act (Zakon o varstvu narave [ZON] 1999), Waters Act (Zakon o vodah 2002), partly Animal Protection Act (Zakon o varstvu živali 1999), Forests Act (Zakon o gozdovih 1993), partly the Spatial Planning Act (Zakon o prostorskem načrtovanju 2002), Chemicals Act (Zakon o kemikalijah 2003), Act on Protection Against Natural and Other Disasters (Zakon o varstvu pred naravnimi in drugimi nesrečami [ZVNDN] 2006), Act on Inland Waterway Transport (Zakon o plovbi po celinskih vodah 2002), Fire Protection Act (Zakon o varstvu pred požari 2007), Act on the Triglav National Park (Zakon o Triglavskem narodnem parku 2001), Act on the Mountain Trails (Zakon o planinskih poteh 2007), Nature Conservation Act (Zakon o varstvu narave [ZON-1] 2004), Act on the Safety on Ski Slopes (Zakon o varnosti na smučiščih 2002), Road Traffic Safety Act (Zakon o varnosti cestnega prometa [ZVCP] 2004), Act on the Protection of Public Order and Peace (Zakon o varstvu javnega reda in miru 2006), etc.
- 9.
Waste management is one of the worst resolved problems within the framework of environmental protection in the Republic of Slovenia (IRSOP 2008).
- 10.
Arrangement or physical protection of natural values, which can be threatened by sightseeing, is included into the Resolution on National Program of Environmental Protection 2005–2012 (Resolucija o nacionalnem programu varstva okolja [ReNPVO] 2006), by which at least ten natural value sites a year should be protected.
- 11.
For instance, in May 2009 customs in Obrežje border crossing (between Slovenia and Croatia) a truck was discovered to transport a source of radioactive radiation among scrap metal. It was denied entry into Slovenia/European Union (Carina 2010a).
- 12.
For instance, Slovenian prime minister has received a camel couple as a gift from Libyan leader Gaddafi, but they can not be imported into Slovenia without a lengthy quarantine in Canada.
- 13.
If a ship does not meet certain conditions, of which those concerning see pollution are fundamental, its entry into Slovenian ports can be denied by the inspection service.
- 14.
For instance, poachers from Italy are often discovered by customs inspection to be smuggling endangered birds which they have poached in Balkan countries (Carina 2010b).
- 15.
In Slovenia Triglav national park has no surveillance on entry and exit points, which renders impossible to exert such control, however some national parks in other parts of the world do have a limited number of controlled entry/exit points.
- 16.
This measure should be accompanied by other measures (such as strengthen formal surveillance) so that offenders find it easier to comply and visit this tracks instead of natural environment.
- 17.
Use, transport and trade are under a very strict surveillance on national and also on international level, where International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA plays a major role (IAEA 2010).
- 18.
In the last few years CFC gases received a fair share of attention, the goal is to completely ban the use of these gases in near future, since they have a devastating effect on ozone layer. Commercially named gas “Freon” is one of the last of these gases to be removed from production.
- 19.
Anyone who comes across an illegal dump (when hiking, picking mushrooms or alike) can add the description and location of the dump into register over the internet, and the dump is later cleared.
- 20.
Obligatory equipping of fishing vessels with GPS systems can also assist in monitoring the position of these vessels when fishing, thus preventing them to fish in the prohibited areas without being noticed, for instance in the “green areas” of the Australian great coral reef (Australian Government 2010).
- 21.
- 22.
Another example is from Malavi, where an elephant herd will be relocated to a newly established national park, to protect it form killing by the local people (African Conservation Foundation 2010).
- 23.
See more about veterinary inspection in (Veterinarska inšpekcija 2010).
- 24.
This measure is supported by Lemieux and Clarke (2009: 465) who say that it is vital to equip authorities in the countries of origin and especially the customs services in countries of destination with appropriate equipment and knowledge.
- 25.
However, Lemieux and Clarke (2009: 264) stress that it is not always enough to disrupt international markets; often the internal markets are also very strong and need to be handled with. They offer a case of parrots market in Mexico, which was not really affected by the disruption of international ban on export, since the poaching of parrots remained almost the same due to local demand.
- 26.
Products and services with this label have an advantage on the market, but companies have to adjust their production to acquire it.
- 27.
The third largest international retailer Tesco has calculated carbon footprint of 20 of its products (the calculation includes all of the life cycle of the product: production, distribution and consumption) and in that way offered its customers one more criteria by which they decide what to buy (Umanotera 2010).
- 28.
Some bears in Slovenia have already been equipped with GPS collars with an intention of their study; however the use of those collars could be upgraded (Medvedi 2010).
- 29.
- 30.
For instance with a slogan: “Don’t let your maid be the one!”.
- 31.
Planet Zemlja association annually awards the car manufacturer, which has achieved the greatest reduction of CO2 of its products (Planet Zemlja 2010).
- 32.
An example of good practice is an introduction of environmental manager [Port Koper has one in accordance with regulations since 2004 (Luka Koper 2004)].
- 33.
Warning signs could include information about the penalty and even about modern ways of detecting offenders – that would serve as a better deterrent than just a notice of forbiddingness.
- 34.
Such warnings serve as first information for the ignorant passengers, while at the same time have a deterrent effect, and also alert consciousness about the problem.
- 35.
More about European Unions’ subventions available on http://ec.europa.eu/environment/funding/intro_en.htm.
- 36.
An example of this is an annual activity of pharmacology students association, which organizes collection and removal of old medicines posing threat to environment (Farma društvo 2010).
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Meško, G., Bančič, K., Eman, K., Fields, C.B. (2011). Situational Crime-Prevention Measures to Environmental Threats. In: Meško, G., Dimitrijević, D., Fields, C. (eds) Understanding and Managing Threats to the Environment in South Eastern Europe. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0611-8_3
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