Even die-hard environmentalists don’t demand that police officers make the safety of the environment their top priority. This is because we want and expect the police to prioritize human safety! When it comes down to it, we all worry more about our safety – and our friends’ and family’s safety – than the safety of a tree or a mockingbird. Remarkably, even without public pressure, police forces around the world are making big strides towards sustainability. The examples below prove that many officers don’t fit the doughnut-munching, gas-guzzling stereotype.
Police Stations Going Green
The city of Boston opened up a $17.5-million, LEED-certified police station during the summer of 2011. The building makes good use of an abandoned space – an old electroplating plant that was shut down over two decades ago. The design reduces electricity use by incorporating a large amount of natural light. It also hosts Boston’s first vegetative roof!1 Also, in 2010 a police station in North Norfolk, United Kingdom opened with a wind turbine and a solar heating system. They built a sedum moss roof to insulate the building, keeping it warm in winter and cool in summer. Then a solar heating system provides free hot water almost year-round!2
Police Riding Bicycles
So many U.S. departments have invested in bicycles that there’s an organization dedicated to it – the Law Enforcement Bicycle Association.3 The Seattle Police Department (SPD) started the police cycling trend in the late 1980s with the formation of its bike unit. Today, Seattle’s downtown precinct alone has about 60 police cyclists. Cyclists have advantages—they maneuver quickly through high-density traffic in addition to having more personal interactions with the citizens they protect. “Sometimes we can get to a hot call faster than a patrol vehicle because we can use alleys and sidewalks,” says SPD bike officer Matt Diezci. The unit outfits its bikes with PDAs, so that officers can instantly access police records, just as if they were patrolling in cars.4
Sustainably Made Uniforms
Last year, Canada’s best-dressed police department award went to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC), which also happens to wear the most eco-friendly uniforms.5 The clothes are made of 35% cotton and 65% poly, which is a material made from plastic bottles salvaged from a landfill. Unlike traditional uniforms, they don’t require dry cleaning, and they cost less. Canadians aren’t the only ones catching onto this trend—the Penbrook police department in Pennsylvania reports that it, too, wears the same sustainable garments including material derived from recycled plastic!6
Literally, the “Green Police”
Some police officers do more than wear eco-friendly uniforms. They actually wear green-colored uniforms. New York City has a team of twenty officers nicknamed the “Green Police.” The NYC officers pull over vehicles that do not comply with emission standards, inspect markets to make sure that fish vendors do not violate conservation laws, and enforce other environmental regulations .7 The NYC Green Police officers have the authority to give out hefty fines as well—a minimum of $700 for a failed emissions test, for example. The team issues about 300 violation fines each month.8 Similarly, Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection has a force of about 30 officers that issued 1,486 fines in 2009. The officers are equipped with field vehicles, cameras, and firearms.9
Vietnam has about 120 green police officers in 30 provinces as well.10 The force focuses on monitoring businesses for environmental violations. This summer, environmental police in Ha Noi discovered that a paper-making plant was dumping 2,500 gallons of untreated waste daily into the Nhue River, which irrigates about 200 square miles of agricultural land. The company faces a fine of US $5-$25,000. This is just one of 4,600 cases of environmental pollution in the Nhue River that Vietnamese police have uncovered.11
There is even discussion surrounding the United Nations forming a green police force.12 “As far-fetched as the idea of ‘green-helmets’ might sound, consider the tasks that the United Nations peacekeepers already perform today — e.g. emergency aid, development and recovery, state — and peacebuilding,” wrote Peter Wittig, Germany’s Permanent Representative to the UN. “Repainting blue helmets into green might be a strong signal — but would dealing with the consequences of climate change (say in precarious regions) be really very different from the tasks the blue helmets already perform today?”13 Regardless of whether more official “green police” forces are formed, traditional police officers will have to continue safeguarding the environment in an effort to protect citizens and our future resources.
