Environmental Protection Admin-istration (EPA) head Hau Lung-bin (
Ninety-six new recruits were added to the original 96 and immediately began training in environmental policing at the National Institute of Environmental Training in Chungli (中壢), Taoyuan County.
"We hope that the strengthened environmental police force will assist environmental inspectors in eliminating difficulties in solving criminal cases involving illegal dumping, illegal toxic waste transportation and other illegal actions that threaten the environment," Hau said.
During the two-week program, the new officers will receive training in a number of aspects of environmental policing, including an introduction to the varieties of pollution, environmental law, environmental crisis management and the conduct of field inspections.
In addition, Hau said, training would cover the enhancement of criminal investigation skills, interviewing skills and the storage of evidence.
The environmental police force was formed in July 1999 with the exclusive aim of solving criminal cases of environmental pollution. Its 96 policemen were originally transferred from the National Police Administration.
Before the force was established, this aspect of policing was left to "toothless" environmental inspectors who were often threatened by gangsters. Lacking the powers to arrest suspects, they had to report to the police and wait for assistance. Often, the suspects had fled by the time police arrived.
In the past two-and-a-half years, however, the EPA police have successfully assisted environmental inspectors in tracing pollutants, controlling wastewater, investigating soil contamination and solving crimes of illegal toxic waste dumping and gravel exploitation.
One particularly notable success was their arrest of truck drivers who had dumped toxic industrial solvents into the Chishan River (
In addition, in November, they arrested members of a criminal organization that allegedly conspired illegally to export hazardous industrial waste to other countries and dump toxic sludge into rivers in Taipei County.
EPA officials had argued since the establishment of the force that the enforcement of environmental law was being plagued by the development of innovative ways of committing environmental crimes. The Cabinet, however, did not approve the proposal by the EPA for more manpower until last year.
EPA head Hau yesterday expressed his appreciation to the National Police Administration for its support in solving environmental crimes by supplying the EPA with more personnel.
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