Justice Department Provides Environmental Crimes Training for Officials from Southeast Asian Nations

Earlier this month, attorneys from the Environmental Crimes Section of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Division (ENRD) led a course on prosecuting environmental crimes at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok, Thailand. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also helped lead the course.

Participants included judges, prosecutors and investigators from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Participants learned about case development, including gathering evidence across borders, and charging decisions and case resolutions to facilitate deterrence. The goal of the course is to advance the United States’ ability to work cooperatively with these countries on related cases and to encourage networking between the participating countries.

The ILEA in Bangkok is hosted and sponsored by the Royal Thai Government and co-sponsored by the U.S. State Department. The ILEA provides a core curriculum of management and technical instruction for criminal justice managers to develop effective law enforcement cooperation within the Association of South East Asian Nations while enhancing each country's criminal justice institutions and abilities to suppress transnational crime.

Photo by Dept. of State.

“Environmental crimes can have high costs for people and our planet,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of ENRD. “We’re grateful for the work of ENRD and EPA personnel as well as the collaboration and dedication shown by law enforcement and judicial officials from Southeast Asian nations who attended the training.”

This summer, Justice Department personnel conducted environmental crimes training for Ukrainian prosecutors and investigators, using training scenarios focused on the Kakhovka dam breach. And ENRD attorneys recently traveled to Cameroon to improve collaboration on logging enforcement efforts.