FOREST CRIMES IN RONDÔNIA: DIAGNOSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE STATE PUNITIVE SYSTEM
Environmental crimes. Forest Crimes. Amazon. Rondônia. Criminal Organizations. Indexes. Mapping. Deforestation. Development of Justice.
Amazon is the most extensive tropical forest cover on the planet, and its preservation
is a topic debated in the largest and most important forums of the international
community. Unfortunately, the devastation of the Amazon is increasing in the last
years, due to the criminal activities of groups that exploit it illegally. The lack of data on
these environmental crimes makes it difficult to make decisions regarding the
development of effective public policies to combat deforestation. Thus, the goal of this
research was to realize a diagnosis regarding forest crime in Rondônia to support the
development of public policies and justice development. Rondônia is relevant in this
scenario since the state is fully included in the deforestation arc of the Amazon
rainforest. As methodology, a quantitative and qualitative study was carried out on
crimes against flora within the state of Rondônia, presenting numbers of occurrences
by location and year, as well as comparing the records with the other phases of criminal
prosecution, demonstrating the action of the different organs of investigation and
repression. The procedures adopted were bibliographic and documentary research,
and survey through semi-structured interviews. The researcher also placed himself in
the condition of a participating observer concerning investigations of environmental
crimes. Data were collected from official documents, like (i) police records of crimes
against flora, in the last decade (2013-2018) in the state of Rondônia, (ii) statistical
data on criminal proceedings and police investigations in progress and (iii) data
collected in interviews with police officers of Rondônia. As a result, it was found a state
inefficiency in dealing with the issue of forest crimes, from the low level of elucidation
to the weak punishment and the consequent increase in this type of crime. The results
obtained could subsidize public policies to better combat deforestation in the region,
consequently reducing deforestation in the legal Amazon.