Catalog Navigator : Rutgers Center for Conservation Criminology

Founded in 2013, the Rutgers Center for Conservation Criminology was set up to provide a secure footing for work in the field of conservation criminology. In the past, little attention has been paid to wildlife crimes. There has been considerable agreement that current deterrent strategies of trying to intercept and punish the poachers though necessary, cannot be the solution. Given the vast territories involved, the advantage will always be with the poachers who know exactly when and where to strike, and how to evade the thinly-stretched patrolling rangers. At the School of Criminal Justice, we have been pioneering a new approach to preventing these crimes: Environmental Criminology that charts the whole process from initial capture or killing of the animals through export and sale in destination countries. The idea is to identify "pinch points" in the process that provide promising opportunities for taking preventive action of whatever kind; using technology to restore the advantage to the rangers, enlisting the help of local people to protect the parks and reserves, strengthening custom controls, or disrupting the markets for wildlife products.