NCJ Number
155959
Date Published
1995
Length
92 pages
Annotation
The authors suggest that depriving criminals of the proceeds of their crimes is important in sending a strong message that crime does not pay; they also indicate that several factors have mitigated against the effective use of legislation in England and Wales to investigate, seize, and confiscate crime proceeds.
Abstract
Parliament has enabled the police and the courts to confiscate crime proceeds through the Drug Trafficking Offences Act of 1986 and the Criminal Justice Act of 1988. This legislation has recently been strengthened by the Criminal Justice Act of 1993 and the Drug Trafficking Act of 1994. The authors analyze the extent to which confiscated sums approach estimated crime proceeds, principles and impacts of confiscation, restraint and confiscation legislation, the organization of financial investigations within the police service, relationships between the police and other agencies, practical difficulties encountered by the police in enforcing confiscation orders, and reforms that will improve the enforcement of confiscation orders. Appendixes contain examples of investigative problems in drug and nondrug (property and retail) crime profit confiscation cases. 34 references and 5 tables