Pretoria – The Green Scorpions made some 1818 arrests between 1 April 2012 – 31 March 2013 and some of the most prevalent crimes reported include the illegal hunting of rhino in a national park, the unlawful disposal of waste, illegal cutting and collection of wood and driving in a coastal area without a permit.
This is according to the National Compliance and Enforcement Report (NECER) 2012/13 which was released by the Department of Environmental Affairs on Sunday.
The report provides a national overview of environmental compliance and enforcement activities undertaken by institutions such as the Environmental Management Inspectorate (EMI) commonly known as the Green Scorpions. The Green Scorpions are tasked with ensuring the implementation of and adherence to specific pieces of national environmental legislation
An overview of the criminal enforcement activities for the 2012/13 period shows that a total of 1818 arrests were made by the Green Scorpions as compared to 1339 in the previous financial year. A total of 70 convictions were obtained, 993 admission of guilt fines were paid to the value of R654 250 and 759 fines amounting to a total of R470 080 were paid.
Admission of guilt fines are issued to minor offenders who are given an option to pay a prescribed fine instead of being tried by a court for that offence. The amount of the fine is based on the nature of the offence as well as what a court would presumably have imposed.
According to the report, the 24-hour environmental crimes and incidents hotline registered 467 complaints and incidents in the 2012/13 financial year, compared to 564 in the previous reporting period.
The number of facilities inspected for compliance with environmental legislation was reported to be 1321 in the pollution, waste and environmental impact assessment sub-sector, and 1445 in the biodiversity/protected areas subsector. In total 1720 non-compliances were noted in the 2012/13 period.
The report also noted that in 2012, a total of 668 rhinoceros were illegally hunted in South Africa.
A total of 50 rhino poaching cases were finalised, with 69 accused convicted and two acquitted. A total of 36 accused were sentenced to direct imprisonment without the option of a fine, while 23 accused had the case against them withdrawn. Sixteen accused were convicted for the possession of rhino horn, eight for the illegal dealing in rhino horn and 20 for the illegal hunting of rhino. Around 23 accused were convicted for illegal possession of firearms/ammunition, while 25 accused were convicted for trespassing.
Members of the public are urged to report environmental incidents and crimes to the 24 hour hotline 0800 205 005. – SAnews.gov.za
