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Basel Convention Secretariat Training Manual for the Enforcement of Laws Implementing the Basel Convention: Guidance for Safe and Effective Detection, Investigation, and Prosecution of Illegal Traffic in Hazardous and other Wastes UNEP/Basel Convention Secretariat acknowledges Michael Penders and Environmental Security International as the lead author and editor of this manual. UNEP also acknowledges and thanks the many environmental law enforcement professionals around the world for their contributions, as well as the resources made available by the U.S. EPA National Enforcement Training Institute (NETI). Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW 2. DEFINITIONS FOR ILLEGAL TRAFFIC IN HAZARDOUS WASTES 3. TRAINING FOR CUSTOMS: WASTE CRIMES AT THE BORDER 4. HAZARDOUS WASTE CRIMES AWARENESS FOR POLICE 5. LEGAL AND TECHNICAL ISSUES OF PROVING WASTE CRIMES FOR PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES 6. HAZARDOUS WASTE TASK FORCES 7. NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO DETECT ILLEGAL TRAFFIC Appendix I: MODEL HAZARDOUS WASTE INVESTIGATION Appendix II: SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS OF HAZARDOUS WASTES Appendix III: ILLEGAL TRAFFICKING CASE SCENARIO EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Training for law enforcement agencies in the detection, investigation, and prosecution of illegal traffic in hazardous wastes is an important component of implementing the Basel Convention itself. Training is critical to prevent and deter illegal shipments of hazardous wastes, as well as protect the economic viability of nations and organizations that comply with laws governing the management of wastes. For this reason, the Basel Convention Secretariat has provided this training manual as part of its Guidance for Detection, Prevention, and Control of Illegal Traffic in Hazardous Wastes. This manual includes separate chapters with awareness training for Customs, police, other law enforcement agencies, Inspectors and Regulators, Prosecutors and Judges, as well as instruction for the formation of Hazardous Waste Task Forces and the collaborative use of new technologies to detect illegal shipments. It contains appendices which detail a model hazardous waste investigation, sampling and analysis protocols, and a case scenario. While each chapter is tailored to the role and authorities of a specific law enforcement function, it is best that each discipline is familiar with the roles of other agencies for effective enforcement of hazardous waste laws. Successful investigation and prosecution of illegal traffickers often requires that different disciplines work together as a team, which is the subject of the chapter on task forces. This manual is intended to provide awareness training and summaries of important principles with broad application for the enforcement of laws that implement the Basel Convention. It is a general training resource for different law enforcement agencies and others interested in detecting and investigating illegal shipments and disposal of hazardous wastes. It is not a substitute for the more detailed hazardous materials training required by many nations for conducting emergency response and hazardous investigations. Nor is it a substitute for more detailed inspector and regulator training required in many countries. Rather, this manual provides guidance in these areas focused upon practical measures and legal requirements to aid in the detection, investigation, and prosecution of illegal traffickers. The manual has application for training general law enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities devoted to environmental compliance, including those which may not be familiar with the requirements of the criminal law. It is hoped that this manual, or more detailed versions of it, may be offered for police, as well as for training of other agencies. This training is critical for effective implementation of the Basel Convention, and its goal of preventing illegal traffic in hazardous wastes. It is also fundamental for enhancing the international capacity to safely investigate and effectively prosecute environmental crimes. Back to Table of Contents Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW The parties to the Basel Convention "consider that illegal traffic in hazardous wastes or other wastes is criminal" and shall "introduce appropriate legislation to prevent and punish illegal traffic", as set forth in the Basel Convention Articles 4 & 9. In order to prevent and deter illegal traffic, parties must implement specific laws with criminal sanctions. Equally important, law enforcement agencies and other authorities must know the mandates of these laws and have the capacity to enforce them in practice. Otherwise, the environmental protections promised by the Basel Convention and related national laws will not be realized. At a minimum, effective enforcement of laws governing shipments of hazardous wastes requires the capacity to detect violations, safely and effectively investigate hazardous waste crimes, and prosecute culpable individuals and organizations across national borders. Training for law enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities in a position to recognize and respond to illegal shipments and disposal of wastes at every stage of illegal trafficking is critical to developing this capacity. To be most effective, training should be tailored to the different functions within the overall compliance monitoring and law enforcement processes, focused upon the distinct role, jurisdiction, and capabilities of the different agencies involved. It should also facilitate cooperative approaches among relevant agencies at the location of an illegal dumping, between national and local authorities around border crossings and ports, and among nations along common trade routes. For example, Customs Inspectors and Agents need training in the documentation and packaging required for lawful waste and chemical exports and imports, and methods for recognizing hazardous waste shipments that do not have required notification, consent, or manifest information. Customs officers should be aware of common schemes for mislabeling or misrepresenting hazardous waste shipments, and know how to access regulatory data at environmental agencies that may determine admissibility and enable agents to prevent an illegal shipment before it clears Customs. Local police, on the other hand, need awareness training in recognizing illegal transport and disposal of hazardous wastes, appropriate response, and how to investigate violations in collaboration with environmental and other agencies. Law enforcement agencies need training in the collection and use of evidence such as chemical samples and the labeling and markings on abandoned containers to identify generators, brokers, transporters, and other potentially responsible parties. Importantly, law enforcement agencies need awareness safety training in what to do, and what not to do, when investigating a crime scene or shipment that may contain unknown hazardous materials. Personnel from various agencies must also know enough about waste regulations to access data from other agencies relevant to establishing a violation of hazardous waste laws or proving a trans-boundary environmental crime. Accordingly, providing awareness training and methods for accessing technical assistance for investigation is critical for the effective enforcement of laws that implement the Basel Convention. This is particularly important in the sphere of environmental crimes, where a police officer without training may not recognize a crime, or worse, may respond to a crime scene containing hazardous wastes without precautions that could save his life. Moreover, because hazardous wastes are produced by millions of facilities around the world, most investigations of illegal dumping begin on the local level, including those that resulted from illegal trafficking. Many nations' law enforcement agencies and criminal justice processes are quite separate from the environmental agencies that have the technical expertise and information for Basel Convention notification and consent procedures. Consequently, effective criminal enforcement of laws regulating hazardous waste movement requires the awareness and cooperation of different law enforcement agencies on the local level. It also requires cooperation with emergency responders and regulatory authorities when police confront an illegal dump or stop a truck hauling unknown hazardous substances without proper paperwork or warnings. Tailoring practical training for hazardous waste crimes to the different functions of enforcement agencies is all the more important when considering the scarcity of dedicated environmental enforcement personnel around the world, particularly in relation to the scale of waste production and growing international trade. Without basic training, the lack of familiarity with technical, laboratory, and regulatory information needed to prove many hazardous waste violations impedes investigations and discourages police from tracing the waste back to its source. Also, the safety issues inherent in investigating a hazardous crime scene demand training. It is the police, Customs, and first responders who are most likely to encounter illegal dumping of unknown hazardous wastes, and risk serious injury or death, if they are not trained. This training extends beyond the controls of the Basel Convention itself in recognition of the realities of how criminal investigations are initiated and conducted, and other laws that are typically violated by illegal traffickers. It has been noted that the gangster Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion, and not of the murders he committed. Similarly, for traffickers in wastes, there are environmental laws, customs and transportation regulations, tax, fraud, and false statement laws, as well as local ordinances which are violated. These violations are often more easily proved in a court of law than establishing all the elements of an illegal export or import of hazardous waste. Conversely, enforcement of laws controlling the movement of hazardous wastes, with trained law enforcement personnel, can have a significant impact on organized crime, which has engaged in illegal trafficking in wastes in many parts of the world. In the 1990s, a law enforcement task force, including investigators trained in waste crimes, monitored phone conversations of an organized crime boss. Suspecting a phone tap, he spoke in code about most of his illegal business dealings. He freely discussed, however, shipping wastes to other states, apparently not realizing he was admitting to criminal violations of laws controlling hazardous wastes. He was prosecuted for these waste crimes and sentenced to a long prison term. These examples illustrate why training should extend to as many law enforcement authorities as possible in order to facilitate effective enforcement of the laws that implement the Basel Convention. Trained personnel may detect or prevent illegal trafficking at different stages, including waste management at the point of generation, transportation, storage, waste brokering, customs processing, disposal or dumping, mixing with other wastes or products, and sham recycling operations. Without training, law enforcement personnel would miss violations of law at these stages. Customs training is also critical because illegal trafficking often proceeds in the guise of lawful commerce in chemicals, non-hazardous wastes, products, and recycling schemes. Law enforcement authorities have to be able to distinguish between lawful transport and illegal traffic, and recognize other violations committed in the course of illegal trafficking. Because nations have different laws related to hazardous wastes, with variations in definitions, and the Basel Convention evolves with respect to definitions of wastes and categories that are subject to its controls, law enforcement authorities need to be trained broadly in the process of recognizing potential waste crimes. Then, law enforcement must have access to information to determine the status of waste shipments under national laws and international agreements, usually with the assistance of environmental agencies with expertise in these areas of regulation. For these reasons, this manual includes a focus on distinct law enforcement functions, as well as an emphasis on approaches that apply across different agencies and regions in order to maximize the limited resources of any one agency or nation. These include the task force approach to hazardous wastes trafficking, mechanisms and resources for cooperative trans-boundary enforcement, the strategic comparison of data from different agencies and commercial sources to detect illegal shipments, and the collaborative use of new technologies to combat international environmental crime. This manual serves as a training resource for law enforcement agencies and others that may become involved in the detection, investigation, or prosecution of illegal trafficking in hazardous wastes. It is also designed to facilitate local, regional, and international cooperation in the enforcement of laws which implement the Basel Convention. It contains appendices which provide step by step examples of hazardous waste investigations, sampling and analysis methods, and a case scenario. These models are designed to assure effective investigation and successful prosecution of illegal traffickers. Back to Table of Contents |
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