New York’s Green Police Cleaning Up the Streets

A team of officers working for the Department of Environmental Conservation, now called the “Green Police“, are tasked with enforcing environmental crimes in New York. They have complete authority to issue citations to violators.

The mission of the Green Police is “To protect and enhance the environment and natural resources of the State of New York while also protecting the health and safety of its people through the enforcement of Environmental Conservation and related laws and public education.”

The office states that they write approximately 300 violations each month, a number that is steadily increasing with proper enforcement.

A few of the department’s responsibilities include:

• Monitoring and enforcing standards for vehicle emissions
• Inspecting food vendors for cleanliness, health and conservation violations (e.g., serving protected fishes)
• Ensuring individuals and businesses are properly disposing of waste

If you are a resident of New York State, please write to your legislators to show your support for continued and increased funding of this department. Hopefully they can become a model for environmental protection that other local governments can follow.