Asset seizure by councils and QUANGOs
The Home Office, under our 'friendly' ex-postie Alan Johnson, has extended the draconian powers of the Proceeds of Crime Act, allowing Councils, QUANGOs and their agencies to search homes, seize cash, freeze bank accounts and confiscate property of those they suspect of crime. As from next week, when the extensions come into force, we are now all guilty until proven innocent. These extensions have not been debated in Parliament, were not arrived at via consultation and even the chairman of the Police Federation, Paul McKeever, is appalled. He says: “The Proceeds of Crime Act is a very powerful tool in the hands of police and police-related agencies and it shouldn’t be treated lightly,” “There is a behind the scenes creep of powers occurring here and I think the public will be very surprised. They would want such very intrusive powers to be kept in the hands of warranted officers and other law enforcement bodies which are vetted to a very high standard rather than given to local councils.” Given the abuse of RIPA and the terrorism act, and almost all of the loosely drafted legislation this government has brought in has led to abuse of power and gross injustice suffered by ordinary citizens. How soon before a council, short of money, raids the home of, say, a christian suspected of "homophobia", confiscates her cash and belongings, and seizes her bank account? What redress would the innocent have? Think it can't happen? From the Times (my emphasis): "The expansion of seizure powers is part of a Home Office plan to “embed” financial seizure across the criminal justice system. Ministers set a target to recover £250 million in criminal assets by 2010, rising to £1 billion per year soon after. An “explanatory memorandum”* says that a swath of financial investigators attached to the newly empowered bodies will be accredited, trained and monitored by another quango, the National Policing Improvement Agency. The memo adds that asset seizure will result in financial rewards: “Investigation bodies will receive a share of money recovered as additional funding to incentivise further work in recovering the proceeds of crime.” Does Postman Pat and his delinquent, cerebrally and morally bankrupt cronies believe that this won't lead to corruption? Update: * Some eye-watering inclusions in the memorandum: An accredited financial investigator "has the power to execute search warrants in financial investigations". Among the additional agencies which have access to these powers are: Counter Fraud and Security Management Service Department of Health Department for Regional Development in Northern Ireland Gangmasters Licensing Authority Home Office Intellectual Property Office a local authority Serious Fraud Office Transport for London Think about how wide-ranging a net these 'agencies' might cast, particularly the Home Office and the Intellectual Property Office. As you would expect, none of this applies to Scotland. Impact: The memorandum asserts that there will be no impact on business, charities, voluntary business or ordinary citizens as a result of this order ... but then states that no impact assessment has been "prepared for this instrument". Does that mean that no impact assessment was actually done, or that they're not prepared to publish the results of one that was? If the former, how can the HO declare that there will be no impact? If the latter, they're obviously hiding something. http://faustiesblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/guilty-until-proven-innocent-asset.html
The Home Office, under our 'friendly' ex-postie Alan Johnson, has extended the draconian powers of the Proceeds of Crime Act, allowing Councils, QUANGOs and their agencies to search homes, seize cash, freeze bank accounts and confiscate property of those they suspect of crime. As from next week, when the extensions come into force, we are now all guilty until proven innocent. These extensions have not been debated in Parliament, were not arrived at via consultation and even the chairman of the Police Federation, Paul McKeever, is appalled. He says: “The Proceeds of Crime Act is a very powerful tool in the hands of police and police-related agencies and it shouldn’t be treated lightly,” “There is a behind the scenes creep of powers occurring here and I think the public will be very surprised. They would want such very intrusive powers to be kept in the hands of warranted officers and other law enforcement bodies which are vetted to a very high standard rather than given to local councils.” Given the abuse of RIPA and the terrorism act, and almost all of the loosely drafted legislation this government has brought in has led to abuse of power and gross injustice suffered by ordinary citizens. How soon before a council, short of money, raids the home of, say, a christian suspected of "homophobia", confiscates her cash and belongings, and seizes her bank account? What redress would the innocent have? Think it can't happen? From the Times (my emphasis): "The expansion of seizure powers is part of a Home Office plan to “embed” financial seizure across the criminal justice system. Ministers set a target to recover £250 million in criminal assets by 2010, rising to £1 billion per year soon after. An “explanatory memorandum”* says that a swath of financial investigators attached to the newly empowered bodies will be accredited, trained and monitored by another quango, the National Policing Improvement Agency. The memo adds that asset seizure will result in financial rewards: “Investigation bodies will receive a share of money recovered as additional funding to incentivise further work in recovering the proceeds of crime.” Does Postman Pat and his delinquent, cerebrally and morally bankrupt cronies believe that this won't lead to corruption? Update: * Some eye-watering inclusions in the memorandum: An accredited financial investigator "has the power to execute search warrants in financial investigations". Among the additional agencies which have access to these powers are: Counter Fraud and Security Management Service Department of Health Department for Regional Development in Northern Ireland Gangmasters Licensing Authority Home Office Intellectual Property Office a local authority Serious Fraud Office Transport for London Think about how wide-ranging a net these 'agencies' might cast, particularly the Home Office and the Intellectual Property Office. As you would expect, none of this applies to Scotland. Impact: The memorandum asserts that there will be no impact on business, charities, voluntary business or ordinary citizens as a result of this order ... but then states that no impact assessment has been "prepared for this instrument". Does that mean that no impact assessment was actually done, or that they're not prepared to publish the results of one that was? If the former, how can the HO declare that there will be no impact? If the latter, they're obviously hiding something. http://faustiesblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/guilty-until-proven-innocent-asset.html