NEW LAW TARGETS PROPERTY

A new provincial law will allow the government to seize the proceeds of
organized crime, Solicitor General Rich Coleman announced Monday.

"As part of our overall strategy to fight crime and enhance public safety,
we need to go after assets acquired through criminal activity," Coleman
said. "The Civil forfeiture Act will put the onus on people involved in
criminal activity to prove that their house, car, or other property was
bought with money not connected to criminal activity."

Under the new act, the government can apply to courts to seize the
ill-gotten assets of crime through the civil law process. The recovered
assets can be used for crime prevention programs, law enforcement
initiatives, or to compensate victims.

A judge can order forfeiture when a person has engaged in unlawful activity
that has resulted in profit or acquisition of property.

"Marijuana grow ops, credit card fraud, identity theft, pyramid schemes,
telemarketing scams, and consumer fraud are just some of the unlawful
activities carried out by organized crime who victimize B.C. families and
businesses," the ministry of public safety said in a release. "The
legislation is designed to stop people from profiting from these kinds of
activities as the expense of individuals and society as a whole.

"It will be another tool to deal with organized crime."

Monies recovered from the liquidation of forfeited property will be paid
into a special Civil Forfeiture Account.

From that account, payments may be made to: prevent crime, remedy the
effects of crime, eligible victims of crime that resulted in forfeiture, or
costs related to the administration of the law.

Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta have civil forfeiture laws, along with the
United States, Australia, Great Britain, and Ireland.

In January, Premier Gordon Campbell announced $122M for 215 additional RCMP
officers, including 30 in the north.