Trends in Wildlife Crime Publications: A Review of Criminological Research

• In Event: Green Criminology 2

Abstract

Literature studying wildlife crimes such as poaching and illegal wildlife trading has traditionally come from conservationists, while criminologists are only recently producing research in the field. The objective of this review is to describe the existing criminological research in the field of wildlife crime, including identifying leading publishing authors, institutions, and journals, purposes of research, predominant methods being used, criminological theories applied, and overall trends in research in this emerging field. Using the Criminal Justice Abstracts search engine, 189 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 1966 - 2015 were identified for review, and each article was assessed for the attributes referenced above. The results of this review find that empirical, applied research and evaluations of interventions aimed at curbing wildlife crime are rare in the criminological literature, with the majority of studies being conceptual or theoretical in nature. A select number of authors, journals, and institutions are responsible for a majority of the publications. A noteworthy exception is found in the research involving wildlife forensics, which accounts for a large proportion of applied research in the field.

Authors

• Sara C. McFann, Florida International University

• Stephen F. Pires, Florida International University

• Justin Kurland, Rutgers University