Water Crimes and Governance: The Slovenian Perspective

Abstract

The demand for water is increasing due to its finite availability and a water-dependent world whose population is growing every day. It is important that there is not only enough water, but that the water is safe for human consumption and use in agriculture. Water crimes include various offences ranging from the pilfering of water from pipelines, to water pollution, to the illegal trafficking of water. These crimes are challenging to detect, investigate, and prosecute. This article presents a case study from the Republic of Slovenia. Owing to its geographical position, Slovenia has a wealth of natural resources, and even though it is one of the smallest countries in Europe, it is one of the richest regarding water resources. In this study, the nature of crimes against water resources, as well as challenges regarding water governance and the policing of water crimes, will be discussed from the perspective of green and rural criminology. Although Slovenia is one of the few countries in the world that within its Constitution has protected the right of people to have access to water, water resources have once again become endangered in 2021 owing to the alleged greed of politicians, corporations and individuals who treat water as an attractive target for profit by illegal means. Rural (green) criminology must expand to include the fields of water protection and prevention of water crimes.

Substantial damage to surface water in the context of environmental crimes

“…22 Furthermore, as previously mentioned the practice of pollution may also represent a significant financial gain for the infringer, with evidence that some pollution actions are connected with organized crime. 8,9,11 Consequently, situations of reoccurrence and/or non-implementation of measures previously identified by the competent authorities as necessary to prevent situations of pollution of water resources are also important to be considered. Therefore, a correction is added to eqn (3), to include additional factors ( f add ) to include the above aspects:where f add is obtained as f add = 1 + ∑ f i …”

“…A deeper analysis has shown that criminal networks usually involved in pollution crimes have been found to be connected to the, fraud, drugs, human trafficking, rearms trafficking or money laundering. 8,9,11 Water crimes include various offences ranging from the pilfering of water from pipelines, to water pollution, to the illegal trafficking of water. These crimes are challenging to detect, investigate, and prosecute.…”

“…8 This type of criminal offence covers water crimes, which include any intentional act that potentially causes harm or damage to water, with intentional pollution of water being one of the three most common types of water crime identified in European countries. 9…”

“…A deeper analysis has shown that criminal networks usually involved in pollution crimes have been found to be connected to theft, fraud, drugs, human trafficking, firearms trafficking or money laundering. 8,9,11…”

“…These crimes are challenging to detect, investigate, and prosecute. 9 The Environmental Crimes Directive (ECD), Directive 2008/99/EC, establishes that a water crime related to pollution is a discharge, emission or introduction of a quantity of materials or ionising radiation into air, soil or water or the collection, transport, recovery or disposal of waste which causes or is likely to cause substantial damage to the quality of water or to animals or plants. However, the legal framework does not define what substantial damage means.…”