Corporate Environmental Crime and Environmental Justice. (May 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Greife, Matthew; Stretesky, Paul B.; Shelley, Tara O'Connor; Pogrebin, Mark
• Is Part Of: Criminal justice policy review. Volume 28:Number 4(2017)
• Page Start: 327
• Page End: 346
• Publication Date: 2017-05
• Subjects: punishment -- sentencing -- environmental crime -- environmental justice -- corporate crime; Criminal justice, Administration of -- United States -- Periodicals; 364.973
• DOI: 10.1177/0887403415576742
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0887-4034

Abstract

Executive Order 12898 (42 U.S.C. § 4321 [2000]) mandates that federal agencies in the United States make it their purpose to achieve environmental justice. As a result, agencies often rely on empirical studies to provide crucial information that can be used to implement policies to combat inequality. Although numerous studies now examine the distribution of environmental burdens and benefits, there are no systematic empirical studies that examine inequality in criminal penalties. This study corrects that omission by presenting findings on the relationship between community demographics and monetary penalties against corporations for 121 criminal violations of federal environmental law that were adjudicated between the years 2005 and 2010. Our results suggest that monetary penalties are not correlated with the demographics of residents living near the crime. That is, corporations that committed their environmental crimes in minority and poor areas did not receive lower monetary penalties as a result. Thus, environmental justice concerns appear to be satisfied with respect to federal criminal prosecutions.