Assessing Environmental Harms: Introducing a New Method and Exploring Recent Empirical Studies in Green Criminology

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

This thematic panel will introduce a new method for assessing environmental harms, consisting of a “harm assessment framework” that enables systematic and empirical evaluations of the harms of crimes and policies to wide-ranging stakeholders. The framework has been extended and modified to better capture harms to the environment, by using “sustainability” as a benchmark and giving full standing to non-human species and the ecosystems in which they reside and interact. The panel will also introduce two new applications of different methods that examine, respectively, the environmental harms of greenlaundering through joint crime ventures and illegal gambling on animals and races. The former will use criminal case records to examine the mechanisms and motives behind joint crime ventures involved in laundering natural resources and it will explore the consequent environmental impact. The latter will work with empirical data collected in recent studies of gambling on animals, including gambling through dog fights, camel races, cockroach races, and cricket fights.

Sub Unit

• Area X. Critical Criminology / 72. Green Criminology

Individual Presentations

• Assessing Environmental Harms: What Is the Right Benchmark and Why Does It Matter? - Victoria Greenfield, George Mason University; Letizia Paoli, KU Leuven

• Greenlaundering, Joint Crime Ventures, and Environmental Harm - Daan van Uhm, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

• Gambling on Animals: Fights and Races - Dina Siegel, Utrecht University

Chair

• Victoria Greenfield, George Mason University