Understanding effects of corruption on law enforcement and environmental crime

Law enforcement agencies monitor and enforce laws that protect landscapes, seascapes, and the species that inhabit them. Corruption helps violators circumvent these laws and regulations and makes law enforcement a much less reliable tool for limiting and preventing environmental harms (Transparency International 2018, Robbins 2000, Kolstad and Søreide 2009, Williams and Le Billon 2017). Adding to this challenge is the fact that in many countries environmental crimes are a low priority for law enforcement authorities, particularly when they are under-resourced and face a range of other threats to the rule of law. Such crimes may even be perceived as victimless.