Introduction
Environmental activists use different strategies to get attention from the world, such as timing large political conventions to get free TV coverage. Organizations such as Greenpeace, Earth Liberation Army, Earth First, and Earth Liberation Front have used different tactics to get attention and advocate for environmental protection. The police department also has a role in maintaining law and order whenever environmental activists conduct protests to ensure that normal business continues in the areas where the protests are taking place.
It is imperative to note that while some groups use peaceful means, others leverage toxic means, which may distort peace and jeopardize happiness in the selected area. In recent events, the Rukus Society has planned training to conduct protests in Miami during the DRNC to gain attention. The information from the undercover shows that they are planning toxic attacks by using chemicals to cause pain to the guests. Although protests are essential avenues for advocacy, they must always be conducted within the dictates of the law to avoid disrupting law and order.
Initial Investigative Actions
Rukus is a special organization that partners with environmental organizations to train protestors to attract attention. Since the police must maintain law and order, they must send undercovers to the training. They gave information on the toxic protests and the sign of a skull and bones, warning people that the marine mammals have been feeling the pain daily. The message contained in the poster showed that there was planning to cause mayhem and discomfort to people during the political conventions, DRNC.
Since the provided information was scanty, the initial investigation should begin to unearth all the information that would lead to the apprehension of the terrorist organization. The initial step in the investigation is to identify the groups partnering with Rukus in the training camp. The investigative undercover in training should be further summoned for debriefing to ensure they are empowered to get more information.
The financiers and the chief organizers of the training should be investigated to determine their intentions and plans during the protest. The information provided by the undercover police will also be authenticated by using evidence to ensure that the undercover is empowered and protected. Conducting surveillance is important, such as sending more investigators to the targeted ponds and water sources that are set to be contaminated to ensure that all unusual activities are noted (Hasler et al., 2020). As the MDPD lieutenant, it is important to partner with other agencies mandated to fight crime, such as the Coast Guard, to ensure that all routes leading to the site selected for the political convention ensure that no toxic substance is shipped to the region. The investigative actions will ensure that the perpetrators and organizers will be arrested while the toxic materials will be prevented from reaching Miami.
Safety Precautions
The planned protests using chemicals in the targeted hotel pose a danger to the people and must be mitigated using safety precautions. One of the most important preventive measures is to ensure that all the targeted hotels have backup security to ensure that no chemical enters the places. Increasing surveillance along the borders and all the routes leading to the targeted hotels to ensure that no strange substances are shipped to the regions is a strategy to protect the environment from the planned chemical attack.
The police should engage with the politicians and the hotel owners to set up preventive strategies so that the protest planners can find them prepared. Since the information provided is still scanty and there is no adequate data, it is important to be prepared by setting up emergency response teams to ensure that people are rescued in case the chemical attackers find a way to poison the targeted regions (Faroque & South, 2022). Therefore, rapid response teams are needed to provide first aid because in case a chemical incident happens, people must get help before the situation worsens.
Role of Environmental Crime Task Force
The intended chemical attack is a strategy to protest to gain attention from the nation. Even though the protest organizers plan to use the correct dosage of chemicals so as not to cause severe injuries and deaths, it violates environmental pollution laws. The E-CAT task force, therefore, has a vital role in policing the environment and ensuring that no group does anything to harm it (Lynch, 2020).
The task force is specialized in handling all forms of pollution that threaten environmental sustainability. Other than protecting the people from the protesting strategy, the task force will likely carry out different services, such as illegal dumping. When the task force and its subsidiary maintain cleanliness, illegal dumping may be stopped in the community (Young, 2019). Besides illegal dumping, the task force is also responsible for enhancing safety by preventing hazardous wastes and other environmentally dangerous offenses.
The task force is consistent with its mandate in investigating Rukus’ training on protests because the planned chemical attack is contrary to the environmental laws. During the DRNC meeting, the protesters plan to use chemicals to make their pleas heard. While they have a constitutional right to protest, they have no right to destroy the environment. Since it protects the environment, it has to coordinate with other organizations to help overcome the threat of environmental pollution. It is important to note that whenever the task force is mandated to overcome any threat to environmental safety, anything that threatens it must be addressed accordingly (Faroque & South, 2022). The possible means of using chemical agents to protest must be curbed by employing all means and coordination with the relevant bodies.
Effects of Politics and Political Processes on Environmental Issues
Politics plays a significant role in environmental protection, and when politicians deliberate in protecting the environment, it will always be safe. However, if politicians are not concerned about the environment, they may pose a threat to environmental protection issues. For example, the planned DRNC threatens the environment as the protestors plan to use chemical agents to show their dissatisfaction with the process.
The political events are seen by the organizers of protests as a major avenue to gain free coverage to make their agenda known to the people (Hasler et al., 2020). Political action groups like the ones in the case are prepared to go to any length to save the environment through protests. In gaining recognition, they may participate in activities that cross the legal threshold and be treated as environmental crimes (Lynch, 2020). For example, when many people cut branches to show branches for protests, they are likely to harm the forest cover. Politics must, therefore, be regulated to ensure that the environment is always protected.
Politicians, especially legislators and policymakers, may impact the regulation of environmental crimes; for example, they may ratify laws that protect the environment. On the other hand, they may reduce regulations such as logging and assist people in participating in deforestation, which threatens environmental sustainability. Political players must know the importance of environmental sustainability, make laws that protect the environment, and suggest strict punishment for environmental crimes (Hasler et al., 2020). Based on the role played by politics in environmental protection, it can be noted that the interplay between environmentalists and politicians must be regulated to protect the environment from all threats and make society aware of the challenges.
Conclusion
The fictional case study shows an interplay between politics and environmental degradation. The environmental task force that has been formed is mandated to investigate all cases likely to threaten and overcome the environment. Environmental crimes have a broad scope, such as illegal dumping and emission of toxic substances into the atmosphere and any possible polluters of the environment.
While political activists such as environmentalists play a crucial role in protecting the natural ecosystem, they must use the accepted means to express their grief and make their pleas known in the long run. Politicians must be deliberate about protecting the environment and set up strict rules to ensure that the environment is safe and people are protected from harmful environmental impacts. The case is an eye-opener to show the importance of the task forces formed to protect the environment. Using the normal police force without expertise in environmental issues may jeopardize the efforts to protect the environment. Nations must, therefore, set up task forces that environmental experts lead to ensure that the environment is protected from all forms of pollution.
References
Faroque, S., & South, N. (2022). Law-enforcement challenges, responses, and collaborations concerning environmental crimes and harms in Bangladesh. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 66(4), 389-406. Web.
Hasler, O., Walters, R., & White, R. (2020). In and against the state: The dynamics of environmental activism. Critical Criminology, 28, 517-531. Web.
Lynch, M. J. (2020). Green criminology and environmental crime: Criminology that matters in the age of global ecological collapse. Journal of White Collar and Corporate Crime, 1(1), 50-61. Web.
Young, S. (2019). Protests, regulations, and environmental accountability in Cambodia. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 38(1), 33-54. Web.