Dr. Ronald V. Clarke, Director
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.
For more information, visit:
https://rscj.newark.rutgers.edu/research/centers/