Natural Resource Crime Investigations Course: Session 2 (April 1 - 12, 2024)

Published April 12, 2024

The Natural Resource Crime Investigations Course (NRCI), jointly organized by ILEA Bangkok and the United States Forest Service (USFS), wrapped up its two-week session on April 12, 2023. Drawing participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Timor-Leste, the program aimed to empower law enforcement officers with the essential expertise needed to tackle natural resource crimes occurring on public lands.

Over the duration of the course, 28 attendees received comprehensive training in an array of technical competencies. These encompassed pre-incident interagency collaboration, employing traditional, collaborative, and technologically advanced methodologies for detecting natural resource crimes, evaluating, preserving, and processing crime scenes, as well as instigating and overseeing investigative cases. Furthermore, participants delved into the use of investigative techniques, including technical investigative equipment, strategies such as the formation of joint investigative teams, and mastering superior report writing skills tailored for presenting cases to prosecution authorities.

The curriculum spanned a broad spectrum of natural resource crimes and associated law enforcement, including but not limited to illicit drug cultivation and distribution, wildland arson, theft and vandalism of cultural resources (archeological and paleontological), as well as illicit activities related to timber, forest products, and occupancy/use of public lands and resources. Participants also received insights into combating illegal logging, mining operations, and wildlife crimes.

Fostering an interactive learning milieu, the course integrated discussions, presentations, and hands-on exercises. These activities underscored the significance of information sharing, joint intelligence gathering and analysis, and sustained communication among participating countries, law enforcement agencies, and prosecutorial bodies. Equipped with newly acquired knowledge, participants were poised to craft and implement investigative strategies tailored to combat natural resource crimes within their jurisdictions, while concurrently establishing the professional networks essential for successful execution.