£15 million payback
Assets worth in excess of £15 million have been seized from Criminals in the North West in the past year, it has been announced.
The six regional forces have together been alocated £3.5 million which will be spent on funding crime fighting measures and community innitiatives.
Receipts from recovered criminal assets are allocated to a range of initiatives.
The Recovered Assets Incentive Fund was set up in 2003–04 to incentivise asset recovery by asset recovery agencies. £15.5 million a year for three years was allocated to the Fund. From the Fund, four new multi-agency Regional Asset Recovery Teas (RARTs) were set up to disrupt criminal groups, confiscate more criminal assets and to tackle money laundering.
|
Assets Seized |
Share of allocation |
| Cumbria |
£368,023.69 |
£83,689 |
| Cheshire |
£828,304.19 |
£188,357 |
| Manchester |
£5,310,908.39 |
£1,207,704 |
| Lancashire |
£4,621,451.55 |
£1,050,921 |
| Merseyside |
£3,358,387.09 |
£763,699 |
| North Wales |
£1,025,456.95 |
£233,190 |
£7 million a year for three years have been made available separately for investment in community based projects in England and Wales.
In addition a new police incentivisation scheme introduced in 2004–05 has enabled police forces in England and Wales, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, to receive a share of the criminal assets they recover locally.
From 2006–07 a new incentive scheme will operate under which all agencies involved in asset recovery will get back 50 per cent. of the assets they recover.