Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the police to recover money obtained via theft by serious organised crime.

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 contains significant powers to assist police forces in identifying, freezing and recovering criminal assets. Police forces utilise confiscation orders to deprive offenders of the proceeds of their criminal conduct. A confiscation order is imposed by the court against a convicted defendant, ordering them to pay the amount they benefited from their criminal activity.

If the defendant has benefited from the crime but has no assets, the court will record the amount of the benefit and make a nominal order. If the defendant later acquires assets, or further assets are discovered, the prosecution can apply to the court to increase the amount that a defendant must pay.

Police forces have dedicated 'Asset Confiscation Enforcement' (ACE) teams that provide a coordinated response to confiscation enforcement and tackling priority enforcement orders to ensure proceeds of crime are recovered.

Financial investigation practices and legislation are regularly reviewed. The Crime and Policing Bill includes reforms which will bolster confiscation, by giving the courts more powers to make realistic and proportionate confiscation orders, expedite the enforcement of unpaid orders, and streamline confiscation proceedings. These reforms will improve asset recovery outcomes ensuring criminals are deprived of their benefit from crime and lead to more funds being returned to victims; and more funds reinvested into law enforcement.