New Crime Fighting Policy

That a preponderant amount of crimes that are committed are often motivated by the quest for economic gain is beyond debate. Police forces around the world are therefore thinking of more sophisticated approaches to emasculating organized criminal groups and individuals. An interesting story by Paul Lashmar in The Guardian reports that Law Enforcement agencies in the UK recovered 125 million Pounds Sterling from an assortment of convicted criminals over the year running from 2006-2007.

While I agree that crime is without doubt a social menace that also disrupts economic life, this blogger is unsure that this approach by the police represents correct approaches to the reduction of criminal behaviour. As the story states, the recovered sum was based on a target and the reason for the celebration is because of the attainment of that arbitrary target. To my mind, that is no reason for celebration because it merely implies that far from keeping the targets for law enforcement action away from committing crime in the first instance, this approach means that the police and other agencies would merely be looking to react after the acquisition of fortunes.

The policy is made even worse by granting a direct stake to the specific departments and the courts that succeed in recovery because they become entitled to a portion of the same. It is not an overstatement to expect that conviction rates could rise where courts may gain from ensuring that recovery takes place. In addition, the quest for recovery by the Asset Recovery Agency through the civil law process not only reduces the burden of proof but may divert police resources disproportionately towards the specific crimes that allow for the application of the Proceeds of Crime Act, 2002.

In my view, police forces ought to concentrate on ensuring that crime does not take place in the first instance and having failed to do that, should then apprehend the criminal and ensure prosecution. Placing judicial officers and police forces in a position of interest in the resolution of a specific case and not another based on arbitrary targets for asset recovery is plainly bad policy. It may succeed momentarily in hurting selected criminals but more importantly, it would corrupt the law enforcement agencies. Criminals and these agencies in the UK may be on the same side now. They want the money!