ATTORNEY GENERAL CURRAN & SECRETARY PHILBRICK
GO “TO THE SCENE” TO TEACH STUDENTS
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. and Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Kendl P. Philbrick will enlist future generations in their ongoing fight against environmental crimes when they visit with middle school students this week. Maryland’s top officials in law enforcement and the environment will be continuing their battle against environmental crime by teaching two classes of students about the importance of reporting environmental crimes, and they will do it from “the scene”.

On Tuesday, April 18, 2006 at 9:30 am, both the Attorney General and Secretary Philbrick will be at Walkersville Middle School in Frederick County holding an outdoor class with science students from the school. Two days later on April 20, 2006 at 8:45 a.m. both the Secretary and the Attorney General will hold a similar outdoor class in Harford County with students from North Harford Middle School. The students have been preparing for this special class by studying and researching environmental issues.

At both locations there will be a mock environmental crimes scene staged by the Maryland Department of the Environment. Students will work in groups to “process the scene” and look for clues that help them try to “solve” the crime while learning how criminal investigators and emergency responders work together to fight environmental crimes. The “scene” will be designed to represent a typical hazardous waste dumping site that criminal investigators and emergency responders regularly handle.

Secretary Philbrick and the Attorney General will lead the session and then speak with the children about types of environmental crimes and what damage they cause to communities and the environment. This outreach continues the collaboration between the Maryland Attorney General’s Office and the Maryland Department of the Environment in the fight against environmental crime.

April 18, 2006, 9:30 a.m. Walkersville Middle School 55 West Frederick Street Walkersville, MD 21793

April 20, 2006, 8:45 a.m. North Harford Middle School 112 Pylesville Road Pylesville, MD 21132