Call for police to use seized assets to fund fight with gangsters

SCOTLAND must adopt a scheme which allows proceeds of crime seizures to be directly given to law enforcement agencies' to help fight the rise of organised crime, a new report has said.

- By Richard Elias

At present, the system operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and has been credited with making real inroads into tackling serious criminality.

However, currently north of the border, any monies seized go into a centralised pot for later redistribution.

This, according to some critics, is not the best way that the funding could be used.

In a report issued yesterday, the head of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland said a rethink was needed as organised crime investigations become increasingly complex.

Craig Naylor praised Police Scotland’s response to recent organised crime-related violence — including their fight against an ongoing, countrywide gang war which erupted earlier this year.

But he warned that such investigations come at significant financial cost.