ELY: New Environmental Crime Team Set Up To Tackle Illegal Scrap Yards
A NEW environmental crime team has been set up in Ely in a bid to tackle illegal scrap yards and unlicensed waste sites. Time is running out for individuals and businesses who commit environmental crimes, said Phil Henderson, Environmental Crime Team Le
A NEW environmental crime team has been set up in Ely in a bid to tackle illegal scrap yards and unlicensed waste sites.
"Time is running out for individuals and businesses who commit environmental crimes," said Phil Henderson, Environmental Crime Team Leader for the Environment Agency.
"The team will investigate environmental crimes such as illegal scrap yard operations and other unlicensed waste sites as well as other cases of serious environmental crime.
"Once formed and fully functioning, the team will include dedicated crime investigation officers, an intelligence officer and a technical surveillance officer."
Prior to the creation of the new team, one Environment Agency team served a large area extending from the Humber down to Essex.
Mr Henderson said: "It had been felt for some time that the geographical area covered was too large and the number of officers too small.
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"The fact the team now deals with a more focussed patch coupled with an increase in our resource is good news for the environment but bad news for those criminals who think they can get away with committing serious environmental offences.
"The creation of our new team ties in with the Environment Agency moving nationally towards and intelligence-led approach to enforcement. We are now using intelligence and crime analysis to identify patterns, trends and hotspots so we can target environmental crime in a proactive way rather than the more traditional reactive response."
Mr Henderson added: "This will enable us to deploy our resources more effectively and address the 'big, bad and nasty' crimes.
"Once word gets out we are investigating, hopefully we will be able to prevent these crimes being committed in the first place.
