MOWLAM MOVE TO SEIZE PROFITS OF CRIME

Mo Mowlam, the minister for the Cabinet Office, will today try to seize back
the law and order agenda from the Conservatives by announcing sweeping new
powers to seize the assets of criminals.

She will also propose a national agency to coordinate the seizures and end
drug-related money laundering.

The proposals were first considered by the Home Office organised crime
directorate in November 1998, but have now been developed by the Cabinet
Office think tank, the performance and innovation unit.

After a month in which the government has been on the back foot on crime, Ms
Mowlam, in a speech today, will say: "Why should millions of law-abiding
people work hard for a living while a few criminals live a life of luxury
built on the misery of others? Arresting and convicting criminals is not
enough - we must also take away their profits.

"In every court case we should be looking to confiscate the unlawful assets
that have built up. That should be the norm, not the exception."

She will also tell the courts that they must use their existing powers more
to confiscate assets and make sure money is collected where confiscation
orders are made.

Proposing to put new powers in place "as soon as possible", she will also
reveal that the government is planning "a new national agency staffed by top
quality financial investigators to maximise the revenues seized".

She will also promise "tough new measures against money laundering and wider
laws to ensure that income from all crimes - not just drug trafficking - can
be seized."

The courts already have powers to confiscate the proceeds of crime by means
of a criminal confiscation order. Even before proceedings begin, the
prosecutor can obtain an order from the high court to freeze property,
pending the making and enforcement of a criminal confiscation order.

However, the Home Office crime directorate has acknowledged that these
orders "have not been as successful as originally anticipated".

The number of drug traffickers subject to confiscation orders rose from
around 3,000 in each of the years 1987 to 1991 to only just over 7,000 in
1996. At the same time the total amount ordered to be confiscated rose from
UKP1m in 1987 to only just over UKP10m in 1996.

Even worse, the Home Office acknowledges, the amounts actually raised have
remained stuck at UKP5m per year.

Between 1987 and 1996 only 157 drug trafficking confiscation orders for over
UKP100,000 were made, even though there had been over 45,000 convictions for
supply of drugs.

Separately, customs officers have powers to forfeit or seize money if they
suspect it represents the proceeds of drug trafficking, or is intended for
use in drug trafficking.

Ms Mowlam will strengthen these powers to allow seizure in non-drug
trafficking cases, claiming the current restriction is an unfortunate
anomaly. The government plan would permit the seizure of cash not just at
the point of import or export of cash, but at any point at which it is found
and suspected of being crime-related.

The police have also been seeking new powers to investigate and restrain the
suspected criminal source of money "where there is strong circumstantial
evidence that that property is the proceeds of crime".

The think tank report, which will lead to a white paper and legislation this
autumn, will recommend that the burden of proof required to seize the
suspected profits of crime should be reduced from the criminal to the civil
level. Police would have to make a case that goods had been acquired
illegally on the "balance of probabilities" rather than the higher standard
of "beyond reasonable doubt".

The proposed "national confiscation agency" would ensure there was a single
body dedicated to seizing criminal assets. At present the serious fraud
office and crown prosecution service have too many other responsibilities.
It is possible the agency will be funded partly by the proceeds.

It would employ lawyers, forensic accountants, and financial and criminal
investigators. It would oversee civil forfeiture, enforce criminal
confiscation orders and work with law enforcement agencies.