CHAPTER 17

Criminal
Investigation
eighth edition
SEVENTEEN
Agricultural, Wildlife and Environmental Crimes
Swanson • Chamelin • Territo
McGraw-Hill
© 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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Discuss the prevalence of timber theft
Explain agrichemical theft
Discuss cattle and horse rustling
Outline several methods of horse and cattle identification
Summarize measures to prevent rural and agricultural
crimes
Distinguish between situational and professional
poachers
Understand investigative techniques used in wildlife
crimes
List and describe the characteristics of hazardous waste
Discuss methods of investigating environmental crimes
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DIMENSIONS OF AGRICULTURAL, WILDLIFE, AND
ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES
• Ranchers, farmers, and others living in rural
places are often the victims of thefts
• Nationally, rustlers steal about 20,000 cattle
worth $12.1 million
• Our national parklands are also victimized by
plant poachers
• It must be observed that person who live in rural
areas and on farms, groves, vineyards, and
ranches not only are crime victims but are
themselves occasional offenders
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TIMBER THEFT
• The U.S. Forest Service concedes that it doesn't
know how much timer is stolen from national
forests
• The value may be as much as $100 million
worth annually and the theft may amount to
about 1 in every 10 trees cut down
• Investigations into the illegal cutting of timber
involve a full range of investigative techniques
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BONE RUSTLERS
• Unauthorized fossil hunters, who loot public and
private lands
• Unauthorized fossil hunters, who loot public and
private land
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AGRICHEMICAL
• Any of various chemical products used on farms;
includes pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides
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THEFT OF AGRICHEMICALS
• The theft of agrichemicals is a multimilliondollar-per-year problem nationally
• The exact type of agrichemical taken varies by
geographic region, depending on what the
predominant crop is
• Distributors in particular have been vulnerable to
the hijacking of trucks carrying agrichemicals,
with resulting losses of $200,000 or more per
incident
• The investigator must become familiar with the
legal supply channels and the principal
agrichemicals that are used in his or her region
• Some farmers will engage in the theft of
agrichemicals or will readily purchase such
commodities at “bargain prices”
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LIVESTOCK AND TACK THEFT
• Cattle Rustling
– The majority of thefts are committed by one or two
people who take the animal for their own use
• Horse Rustling
– More than 50,000 horses are stolen each year as
compared to about 20,000 cattle
– About 60 percent of the stolen horses end up in
slaughter plants, where they are processed and sold
as meat for human consumption in Europe and Japan
• Tack Theft
– Tack is equipment that is used with horses; the most
common items are saddles, bridles, and horse
blankets
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LIVESTOCK IDENTIFICATION
• In any livestock theft case one key to a
successful prosecution is the positive
identification of a specific animal as belonging to
a particular owner
• Hot-Iron Branding
– Hot-iron branding is a method of identification that
has been used in this country for nearly 400 years
• Ear Tags and Injectable Identification
– Bar-code ear tags for cattle were an advancement for
herd management
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LIVESTOCK IDENTIFICATION (cont'd)
• Freeze Branding
– Special freeze-branding irons are chilled using dry ice
or liquid nitrogen and then applied to the hide
• Earmarks
– Earmarks are often used in conjunction with branding
• DNA Profiles
– DNA profiles of expensive horses and bulls are
common as a theft deterrent
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CATTLE IDENTIFICATION FORM
• Uniformed police
officers often take the
initial report of a
livestock theft
• These officers often
have little knowledge
of livestock
• Forms such as the
one shown are helpful
to the officer in
documenting livestock
identifiers
(Source: Courtesy Los Angeles County, California, Sheriff’s Department)
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HORSE IDENTIFICATION FORM
• This form serves the same purpose as the cattle identification form
• Uniformed officers must receive training in the use of this form in
order to use it effectively
• Information captured on the form can greatly assist the identification
process which is critical in a prosecution of livestock theft
(Source: Courtesy Kern County,
California, Sheriff’s Department)
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BRANDS
• On livestock, registered combinations of
numbers, letters, marks and shapes that
establish unique identifications
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METHODS OF READING BRANDS
• Brands are registered with different agencies in
various states
– Some are registered with state agencies
– Others are registered with local courthouses
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EXAMPLES OF CRIME PREVENTION MEASURES TO
PROTECT AGAINST RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL CRIMES
• Farm equipment theft
– Participate in equipment identification programs
– Do not learn equipment in remote fields
• Timber theft
– Post the property
– Check to see if any timber has been cut
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EXAMPLES OF CRIME PREVENTION MEASURES TO
PROTECT AGAINST RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL CRIMES
(cont'd)
• Agrichemical theft
– Rural dealers should employ security personnel
during months with large inventories
– 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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POACHING
• The illegal taking or possessing of game, fish,
and other wildlife
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ELK KILLED FOR THRILLS
• Situational poachers are motivated by opportunity and
circumstance
• Situational poachers killed the elk pictured as no attempt
was made to retrieve the antlers or any meat
• Professional poachers take more game than situational
poachers and make more profit
(Courtesy Wyoming Game and Fish Department)
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INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES USED IN WILDLIFE CRIMES
• Information is an essential commodity in
combating poachers
• Uniformed wildlife officers patrol in boats and
cars
• Wildlife officers also employ intensive hunting
patrols
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INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES USED IN WILDLIFE CRIMES
(cont'd)
• Vehicle check stops are strategically set up
• Fishing patrols check to see that no protected or
endangered fish are being taken
• In a common wildlife violation, nonresidents of a
state claim residency, to pay less for licenses
• Sometimes investigators must pose undercover
to collect information
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ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME: THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK
• There are roughly 18 major federal
environmental laws that form the basis for
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
programs
• From this maze of laws three patterns of
enforcement emerge
– 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/or local
jurisdiction
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HAZARDOUS WASTES
• Solid, liquid, sludge, and manufacturing byproduct wastes that are ignitable, corrosive,
reactive, and/or toxic; may pose serious threat to
human health and the environment if improperly
managed
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CHARACTERISTICS OF HAZARDOUS WASTES
• The illegal dumping of hazardous wastes is a civil and
criminal violation
• Police personnel should have a general awareness of the
characteristics of hazardous waste materials
• When hazardous materials are encountered police should
summon firefighters or hazardous materials disposal
personnel
(Source: Courtesy Environmental Protection Agency)
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TSD CRIMES
• Any illegal acts involving the treatment, storage,
and disposal of hazardous wastes
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METHODS OF INVESTIGATING ILLEGAL DUMPING OF
HAZARDOUS WASTES
• 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
• Leads on illegal hazardous-waste sites may be
offered by disgruntled or former employees
occasionally by a current employee
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METHODS OF INVESTIGATING ILLEGAL DUMPING OF
HAZARDOUS WASTES (cont'd)
• Surveillance is an excellent tool for gathering
information, as it can establish illegal practices
and the person involved with them
• For most environmental crimes, it is necessary
to form a team to conduct the investigation
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