SEIZURES SOARING: THE PROCEEDS OF CRIME

B.C.'S Piece of the Pie Remains Small, but the Total Value of Items Seized
Has Quintupled Over 10 Years.

Seizures of cash, vehicles, businesses and personal property by police in
Canada more than quintupled during the first 10 years that federal proceeds
of crime legislation was included in the Criminal Code.

The total value of items seized or restrained by criminal courts rose from
$13 million in 1993-94 to a high of $71 million in 2002-03, the most recent
year for which federal statistics are available.

But net proceeds from goods permanently forfeited -- used to help fund
anti-crime programs across the country -- have been much smaller.

In 2002-03, for instance, only $12.8 million in net revenue from proceeds
of crime was realized.

The B.C. government's piece of this pie has been tiny. Since the
legislation was brought in 1993, B.C.'s share of net proceeds of crime has
only been $926,322.

Not-guilty verdicts result in some seized property and cash being returned
to its owners. As well, all property must be stored or managed while
criminal cases wind their way through the courts, a cost that is deducted
from any eventual net proceeds.

Suspects can also get access to their seized property or money by claiming
hardship while their case is continuing.

"In almost every case, we see defence lawyers using seized property to pay
legal fees," said RCMP Insp. George Pemberton, who heads the proceeds of
crime unit in Vancouver's E Division.

Canadian law enforcement doesn't have the benefit of sentencing guidelines
like those in the United States, where a criminal can significantly reduce
his sentence if he pleads guilty and agrees to forfeit his assets related
to crime.

"That sort of sentencing structure would be a huge benefit to us,"
Pemberton said. "It gives the criminal an incentive not to drag out the case."

Representatives from the Seized Property Management Directorate, a
little-known arm of the federal government which manages all proceeds of
crime seized in criminal cases, can offer no statistical breakdowns for how
much of the seized property originates from B.C.

But anecdotal evidence from police officers in the field suggests that
money and property turning up in investigations here is growing.

Pemberton can't provide exact figures but estimates that "tens of millions"
in cash and assets are typically seized annually by various police and law
enforcement officials in B.C.

The vast majority of those goods are tied to organized crime, he said.

"I was on a drug section 15 years ago and it would be exceptional then to
do a search of a residence and seize $100,000," Pemberton said.

"Now that amount is absolutely routine. To make seizures of $500,000 from a
house or a grow-up wouldn't raise an eyebrow. A million-dollar seizure is
less common, but it still doesn't surprise me the way it would have 15
years ago. We are seeing a lot more cash around."

Recent examples include:

* In July of this year, Vancouver police seized more than $800,000 in cash
while investigating the suspected importation from China of a key
ingredient used in ecstasy.

* In April, fisheries enforcement officers raiding a residence in Saanich
looking for illegal abalone also found hundreds of thousands of dollars in
cash as well as cocaine and merchandise.

* In December 2002, police and the Organized Crime Agency of B.C. seized
more than $790,000 from the trunk of a Porsche driven by a Vancouver man.

Seized property can include a wide variety of items -- from cash, stock
market shares, life insurance and RRSPs, to motorcycles, airplanes, real
estate, mobile homes, jewelry, lottery tickets, cattle and race horses.

Police have two ways to seize what they believe to be the proceeds of crime
or material that has been used in the commission of a crime. Both tools
must be approved by a judge.

One is a special search warrant, which allows police to confiscate movable
items such as furniture, technical equipment or vehicles.

The other is a restraint order, which allows police to place non-physical
property, such as real estate titles or securities, in limbo. "That's our
most commonly used section," Pemberton said. "That allows us to order
anyone with an interest in the property not to deal in it."

Physical goods seized -- most often these days elaborate marijuana grow-op
equipment such as heavy-duty lights and transformers -- is stored in the
Seized Property Management Directorate B.C. warehouse, at an undisclosed
location.

A sentence following a guilty verdict may include the forfeiture of assets
seized in the investigation. Those convicted have 30 days in which to
appeal forfeiture orders. If an appeal fails, the property directorate
begins selling the goods, typically through auction or, in the case of
houses, through a real estate agent.

All proceeds, minus the cost of managing and storing the goods, are
forwarded to the Seized Property Proceeds Account. Provincial and local
governments, as well as law enforcement branches, can then apply for a
share of the proceeds to use in crime-prevention programs.

But Pemberton said B.C.'s share of that take has typically been low because
of the high cost of storing grow-op equipment while investigations and
trials are continuing.

Pemberton's brand of crime-fighting requires more than traditional police
skills. The 46-year-old holds a master's degree in business administration
and his section includes police and other seconded law enforcement
officials with expertise in real estate, financial securities, forensic
accounting and law.