CHAPTER 18

Agricultural, Wildlife, and Environmental Crimes

CHAPTER 18

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Learning Objectives, 1

Discuss the economic impact of agricultural, wildlife, and environmental crimes on the economy of the United States

Discuss the prevalence of timber theft

List the major categories of wildfires

Explain how horses and cattle rustlers operate

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Learning Objectives, 2

List and describe the major methods of marking

horses and cattle for identification

Understand the most effective method to prevent

rural and agricultural crime

Discuss the major aspects of agroterrorism

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Learning Objectives, 3

Identify the four major threats to wildlife

Distinguish between situational and professional

poachers

List and describe the characteristics of hazardous

waste

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Economic Impact of Agricultural, Wildlife, and Environmental Crimes, 1 Ranchers, farmers, and others living in rural places are often the victims of thefts

Some variation in what is stolen is accounted for by fluctuations in the economy

Reported losses due to livestock theft are 19.7 million dollars annually

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Economic Impact of Agricultural, Wildlife, and Environmental Crimes, 2 Stealthy fossil hunters or bone rustlers invade private and public lands

National and state lands are victimized by plant poachers, whose targets vary as market conditions shift

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Timber Theft

Forest economists believe that thieves are stealing trees worth one billion dollars annually • One in every 10 trees is cut down illegally

Investigations into the illegal cutting of timber involve a full range of investigative techniques • Paint transfers • Tool marks • Fingerprints • DNA

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Fire Cause Categories, 1

Arson or incendiary: Fires that are deliberately and slash or maliciously set with the intent to damage or defraud

Children: Fires started by persons 12 years of age or younger

Lightning: Any wildland fire started as a result of lighting activity

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Fire Cause Categories, 2

Campfires: Any fire kindled for warmth, cooking, light, religious, or ceremonial purpose

Smoking: Any fire that results from smoking activities or accoutrements

Debris burning: Fires started for purposes of burning slash, garbage, stubble, right-of-way, or other controlled burning

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Fire Cause Categories, 3

Equipment use: Wildland fires that result from the operation of mechanical equipment

Railroad: Wildfires caused by any railroad operations, personnel, or rolling stock and can include track and right-of-way maintenance

Power lines: Fires that result from a conductor failure or faulting, insulator failure, hardware failure, birds, small animals, and Mylar balloons

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Fire Cause Categories, 4

Fireworks: Wildfires caused by ground-based, handheld, or aerial explosives

Cutting, welding, and grinding: Fires caused by an industrial or agricultural operation and an individual or residential activity

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Fire Cause Categories, 5

Firearms: Wildfires caused by black powder discharge, tracer, incendiary, and steel core ammunition

Blasting: Wildfires started by flaming debris associated with blasting activities

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Theft of Agrichemicals, 1

Agrichemical: Broad term whose meaning encompasses a variety of products used on farms, including pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides

Pesticides and herbicides can be costly

Investigators must become familiar with the legal supply channels and the principal agrichemicals that are used in their region

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Theft of Agrichemicals, 2

Some farmers steal agrichemicals or buy them at bargain prices from thieves

Method of identifying farmers who are possible illegal receivers of agrichemicals • Determine whose purchasing patterns through legal

supply channels are inconsistent with their crop needs

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Livestock and Tack

Livestock: Cattle, horses, sheep, goats, hogs, mules, donkey, and other such species

Tack: Saddles, bridles, harnesses, horse blankets, and related equipment

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Livestock and Tack Theft, 1

Uniformed police officers take the initial report of a

livestock theft

These officers often have little or only rudimentary

knowledge of livestock

Police agencies can help compensate for lack of

knowledge of livestock by:

• Adopting cattle identification forms • Providing training in their use

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Livestock and Tack Theft, 2

Cattle rustling

• Majority of thefts are committed by one or two people who take the animal for their own use

Horse rustling

• Thief will park a vehicle and trailer nearby, walk up and take the horse, load it in the trailer, and drive off

• Because such thefts occur during the hours of darkness, the rustler can be several hundred miles away before the

theft is discovered

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Livestock and Tack Theft, 3

Tack theft

• Of all stolen tack, approximately 80 percent is saddles, which have base prices in excess of 2,000 dollars each

• Specialized reporting form is a very useful investigative aid

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Livestock Identification, 1

Purpose is to establish that a particular animal is the property of a specific owner

The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Identification System, N A I S • All agricultural animals would receive a 15-digit Animal

Identification Number, A I N, which ultimately could track them from birth to death

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Livestock Identification, 2

Brands • Combinations of numbers, letters, marks, and shapes

that establish unique identifications • Must be registered with the state before they can be

used

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Figure 18.13: Methods of Reading Brands

Jump to Figure 18.13: Methods of Reading Brands, Appendix

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Figure 18.14: Picture Brands

Jump to Figure 18.14: Picture Brands, Appendix

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Methods of Identification, 1

Hot-iron branding • Iron is heated in a fire and then the end bearing the

brand is impressed on the upper hip of the animal

Tattoos for cattle and horses, which should be consistent for an entire herd

Freeze branding • Use of liquid nitrogen or dry ice and alcohol to supercool

the hide, and when it is applied, it kills cells that produce hair pigments

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Methods of Identification, 2

Ear tags • Plastic ear tags can be bought prenumbered or blank so

the rancher can use his or her own numbering system

Electronic • Microchips equipped with a radio transponder has Radio

Frequency Identification, or R F I D, capabilities

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Methods of Identification, 3

D N A profiles • D N A profiles of expensive horses and bulls are common

as a theft deterrent

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Physical Evidence

Cut wire and lock will have tool marks on them from the cutting tool

Pieces of the suspect’s clothing may adhere to the barbs

Shoes or tire impressions

Soil samples collected at the crime scene

D N A evidence

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Crime Prevention Methods, 1

Farm equipment theft • Participate in equipment identification programs • Do not leave unattended equipment in remote fields

Timber theft • Post the property • Check periodically to see if any timber has been cut

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Crime Prevention Methods, 2

Agrichemical theft • Rural dealers should employ security personnel during

months with large inventories • Buyers must be suspicious of persons offering unusually

good buys on agrichemicals

Livestock or tack theft • All livestock should be marked for identification • Avoid leaving animals in remote pastures

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Agroterrorism

Deliberate introduction of an animal or plant disease for the purpose of generating fear, causing economic losses, or undermining social stability

Tactic to attack economic stability • Killing livestock and plants or contaminating food can

help terrorists cause economic crises in the agriculture and food industries

Secondary goals: Social unrest and loss of confidence in the government

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Economic Disruption of Agriculture at Three Levels Direct losses due to containment measures

Indirect multiplier effects

International costs would result from protective trade embargoes

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Foot and Mouth Disease, or F M D

Contagious virus that is 20 times more infectious than small pox

Causes blisters on the tongues, hooves, and teats of cloven-hoofed animals, goats, and deer, rendering them unable to walk, give milk, eat, or drink

Can survive in straw or clothing for one month and spread up to 100 kilometers via the wind

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Terrorist Threats in the Past

Anthrax and glanders • Capable of killing horses and mules • Were introduced by German agents in a variety of ways

• Hypodermically injecting the animals • Dumping bacteria-laden liquid into animals’ food and

water troughs

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Law Enforcement Preparedness, 1

Majority of state and local law enforcement

agencies face financial and strategic challenges

when responding to agroterrorism

Emergency response to an outbreak of F M D

• Containment and eradication, involving multiple herds and a large quarantine area that may encompass

multiple countries

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Law Enforcement Preparedness, 2

Responsibility and authority for animal disease lie with:

• State agriculture • The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal

and Plant Health Inspection Service

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Biosecurity Measures and Prevention

Police officials should enforce quarantine orders given by state agricultural authorities

Officers should enforce S M O’s issued by the state governor to prevent the spread of the disease

Criminal investigation of the outbreak further will tax already strained law enforcement resources

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Major Threats to Wildlife

Urban sprawl

Accidental or illegal release of chemicals

Land erosion

Oil spills

Poaching: Illegal taking or possession of game, fish, and other wildlife

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Poachers

Situational poachers: Motivated by opportunity and circumstance

Professional poachers: Motivated by profit

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Investigations, 1

Information is an essential commodity in combating poachers

Uniformed wildlife officers patrol in boats and cars

Wildlife officers employ intensive hunting patrols

Vehicle check stops are strategically set up

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Investigations, 2

Fishing patrols check to see that no protected or endangered fish are being taken

Some out-of-state hunters attempt to pass themselves off as residents

Officers may dress as trout fishers and work their way along a stream watching for violations or may employ sophisticated sting operations

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Trophy Poaching, 1

Offenders include both residents and nonresidents • Residents who are familiar with the poaching area will

provide their services to nonresidents in exchange for money

• Individuals will work with local landowners who will for a fee provide access to private land, which would otherwise be inaccessible to offenders

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Trophy Poaching, 2

Outfitters and guides: Recreation specialists who provide guiding services to hunters for a fee • Outfitter’s assistance to trophy poachers can take place

during legal hunting seasons, or outside of legal hunting seasons

• Outfitters are required to be licensed in order to operate legally in some states

• Rouge outfitters: Those who provide illegal or unlicensed outfitting services

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Role of Taxidermists in Trophy Poaching Taxidermists: Individuals who mount the heads and antlers of game animals for hunters • May become involved in trophy poaching in ways other

than mounting illegally taken animals

In some cases, states require taxidermists to keep a record of the animals they accept for mounting • Taxidermists who operate illegally will keep inaccurate or

incomplete records of the animals they accept in their shops, and deliberately falsify their record books

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United States Fish and Wildlife Service Forensic Laboratory, 1 Investigators have access to individuals who:

• Possess the analytical techniques to evaluate the physical evidence

• Serve as expert witnesses in court on investigators’ behalf

Access to experts resulted in a dramatic increase in the successful investigation, prosecution, and conviction for violations of wildlife laws

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United States Fish and Wildlife Service Forensic Laboratory, 2 Primary mission of the laboratory • Identify the species or subspecies of pieces, parts, or

products of an animal • Determine the cause-of-death of an animal • Help wildlife officers determine if a violation of law has

occurred • Identify and compare physical evidence in an attempt to

link suspect, victim, and crime scene

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Environmental Crimes

Roughly 18 major federal environmental laws form the basis for Environmental Protection Agency, or E P A, programs

Patterns of enforcement • Acts over which only the federal government has

jurisdiction • Acts for which there is concurrent federal and state

jurisdiction • Acts for which there is unique state and slash or local

jurisdiction

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Hazardous Wastes

Solid, liquid, sludge, and manufacturing byproducts that are characterized by:

• Ignitability • Corrosiveness • Reactivity • Toxicity

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Characteristics of Hazardous Waste

(Source: Environmental Protection Agency)

Illegal dumping of hazardous waste is a civil and criminal offense

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Provisions of State R C R A Laws, 1

Identification and listing of hazardous wastes

Establishment of permit and license systems regarding various types of hazardous waste

Manifest or shipping-paper system that tracks hazardous waste from its cradle to its grave

Identification of the responsibilities of the generators and the transporters of hazardous waste

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Provisions of State R C R A Laws, 2

Requirements for hazardous-waste management facilities

Designation of enforcement authority and criminal penalties

Components of the waste cycle • Generating • Transportation • Treatment, storage, and disposal, or T slash S slash D

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Table 18.1: E P A Hazardous-Waste

Generator Status

Generator category Monthly generation rate

Maximum quantity accumulation limit

Maximum time accumulation limit

Conditionally exempt

small-quantity

generator, C E S Q G

Less than 100 k g 1,000 k g None

Small-quantity

generator, S Q G

100 to 1,000 k g 6,000 k g 180 days

Large-quantity

generator, L Q G

More than 1,000

k g

No storage limit 90 days

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

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Investigative Methods, 1

Patrolling officers should be alert for signs that indicate the possibility or presence of illegal dumping of hazardous waste • Officers should approach suspected hazardous-waste

spills and toxic-waste sites with the wind at their backs and from the highest ground reasonably available

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Investigative Methods, 2

Leads on illegal hazardous-waste sites may be offered by disgruntled or former employees, home owners, fishers, competitors, and others

Surveillance is an excellent tool for gathering information as it can establish illegal practices and the persons involved with them

For most environmental crimes, it is necessary to form a team to conduct the investigation