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Abstract

Environmental crimes not only endanger our planet's security and future generations but can have detrimental impacts on our daily lives. Borders do not confine environmental crimes, which range from illegal wildlife trafficking to illegal logging, pollution, and the dumping of hazardous waste (Interpol, n.d.; Europol, n.d.). As these concerns proliferate, current practices to adequately address environmental harms have shown to be ineffective. There is a sense of urgency to combat these issues as natural resources are finite and the repercussions may be devastating (Interpol, n.d.). Therefore, a fundamental shift in our approach is essential to ensure the longevity of species and ecosystems. Restorative justice, unlike traditional criminal justice, has the ability to achieve justice for victims, restore damaged environments and prevent future offending. Therefore, this dissertation has critically examined the role, importance, and use of restorative justice in addressing environmental crimes. A thorough literature review was undertaken to synthesise the relevant literature. The findings of fourteen studies examining the application of restorative justice to address environmental crimes were reviewed. This study acknowledged the limited research available, and several findings were drawn from theoretical applications as opposed to primary research. This dissertation found the following overall conclusions:

- Restorative justice aims to enhance reconciliation and rehabilitation as opposed to punishment and has the potential to be transformative for victims, repair environmental damage, promote accountability, increase community engagement, and prevent reoffending.
- There are clear advantages of addressing environmental crimes through restorative justice, however caveats concern the leniency of the approach, recognition of victims, execution of settlements and the universal applicability.
- Green criminology and environmental justice are emerging disciplines with limited research in the field. Future research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing a restorative justice approach to address environmental crimes and a recommendation would be to conduct trials and experiments to yield primary data.

Course: International Criminal Justice and Intelligence Degree - MSc - P3496FTC

Date Deposited: 2024-11-18

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis14516.html