20 Nov 2023
To support the fight against environmental crime, the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) is planning to publish in 2024 a special edition of the European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin. This Bulletin issue, the first of its kind covering a specific crime area, aims to contribute to a better understanding of environmental crime and serve as an added-value training manual for law enforcement higher education programmes.
CEPOL invites law enforcement and judicial officials, academics, scholars, policymakers, students, and practitioners to submit their papers with the aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of recent crime patterns against the environment and the exchange of effective intelligence, investigation, general enforcement, and cooperation practices.
The following subtopics are of particular interest:
- Environmental crime, regional patterns, crime routes;
- Challenges in the fight against environmental crime;
- Detection, intelligence, investigative and forensic practices in the fight against environmental crime;
- Cyber and financial investigations in the fight against environmental crime;
- Corruption and document fraud in environmental crime;
- Role of administrative authorities in the fight against environmental crime;
- Cross-sector and cross-border cooperation;
- Cooperation possibilities with third countries in the fight against environmental crime;
- The role of NGOs and other non-public entities.
Any other topic covering environmental crime aspects is also welcome!
Important details regarding the submission of papers:
The extended deadline for submissions is 15 January 2024. Contributions will be exclusively accepted by email to research.bulletin@cepol.europa.eu
Recommended length of contributions: between 2000 and 5000 words, including footnotes and references. Please also note the following:
- The first page should include: full name of the contributor(s), institutional affiliation(s), email address (required); telephone number (optional).
- On the second page please provide an abstract of no more than 250 words, and indicate a maximum of 5 keywords.
Submitted contributions will be subject to a review process, depending on the type of submissions.
Read the full guidelines regarding manuscript submission here.
Background information
Fighting environmental crime is one of the priorities of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats, EMPACT 2022-2025. Preventing and tackling this challenge is a global priority. In order to respond to this challenge, it is paramount to have a network of authorities, agencies, and organisations which can work together in order to deal with this phenomenon. In this network, law enforcement authorities play a vital role. Environmental crime affects the EU’s internal security, particularly due to its cross-border dimension. The multiple risks this phenomenon poses, as well as the emergence of new modus operandi, call for in-depth research to find leading criminalistic practices, knowledge which could be used accordingly to update learning materials at the disposal of law enforcement professionals.
Earlier this year, CEPOL organised its first Workshop on Environmental Crime. This activity offered a unique learning and networking opportunity for law enforcement practitioners, academics and researchers. By connecting research findings, developed technologies and tools with law enforcement practices, common efforts can be stepped up in the prevention and fight against environmental crime.
As a follow-up to this initiative, CEPOL will publish a special edition of the European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin dedicated to environmental crime. The aim is to bring together ideas and perspectives of practitioners, trainers and educators, with researchers and academic scholars working in the field; thus facilitating the sharing of knowledge and expertise that can foster broader discussions on this important topic.