CRM 2150 - Environmental Criminology

Credits: 4

This course will introduce students to the developing field of environmental criminology, also known as green criminology. We will explore criminological research and theories to understand the scope of harm that crimes against the environment inflict. We will also explore solutions to environmental problems. Among the issues addressed are: the nature of environmental offenders and victims, environmental racism, and the intersection of race, class, age, gender, and place in environmental crimes, and criminal justice solutions to specific environmental problems. Additionally we will trace the history of environmental or “green” criminology; address the differences and similarities between green crime and “ordinary crime;” consider where environmental criminology overlaps with other subfields in criminology, such as rural criminology and peace-making criminology. After completing this course, students should be able to identify the systemic causes of environmental problems; compare and contrast the various legal solutions to environmental problems and the role of civil law, regulatory law, and criminal law in addressing crime against the natural world; and evaluate the roles of the criminal justice system and other administrative agencies in enforcing, prosecuting, and preventing environmental crimes.