Portfolio Justice
and make other financial investments. Without this expert advice, crime groups would find it very difficult to operate.” One of the biggest problems police have had in tackling organised crime in the past is that many of the individuals imprisoned for their offences simply continue to operate from behind bars. Moves are now being made to target crime bosses who continue their operations from jail. Te number of intelligence officers operating inside prisons has increased recently and more than 400 convicts have been subject to intense scrutiny in an attempt to prevent mobile phones and Sim cards being smuggled into prisons. Police estimate 10 per cent of those involved in organised crime are behind bars. Detective Superintendent Tom Tague, of the SCDEA’s information unit, added: “Previously, when those involved in serious and organised crime went to prison, they fell off the law enforcement radar. “Many continued to run criminal enterprises
and returned to criminality when they left prison. We can’t afford to ignore the prison estate - what we do about organised crime and how we tackle career criminals.” Labour MSP Graeme Pearson, a former
director of the SCDEA, acknowledges the fight against organised crime has moved up the priority ladder, but thinks there is still a long way to go. He said: “Right from the day the SNP came into government it was one of the priorities the Justice Secretary set himself and he created the Organised Crime Task Force which brings together those involved in the strategic end of the response to organised crime. “Te issue is an important one, it has a major impact in Scotland, not only in terms of criminality, but impacts the economy and the ability of small companies to prosper. “But given that the SNP has been in the driving seat for over four years now, I think the report would say ‘much yet to do’ and I think they could do more in terms of pulling resources together. “Assessments seem to indicate the sums
involved in organised crime are in excess of a billion pounds annually, as far as Scotland is concerned. Tat extends to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, the sex industry, counterfeiting, intellectual property theft, and so on, and there is the impact of money laundering that lies in behind that which becomes extremely caustic in terms of public life. “I think there is a real need to reappraise our
efforts in terms of asset recovery and seizure because the current system takes too long, it is too slow and doesn’t deliver the types of seizures on the scale we need to see. “You get the occasional seizure of a million pounds plus, but largely, the seizures are in the thousands or tens of thousands and when you think of that compared to the over £1bn of
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www.holyrood.com 19 September 2011
Police estimate 10 per cent of those involved in organised crime are behind bars
turnover in organised crime, the total seizures doesn’t amount to much. It almost seems like the seizures have the impact of a minimal tax rather than posing a major threat.” Dr Niall Hamilton-Smith, a criminology lecturer at Stirling University and member of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, said the problem of organised crime is compounded further in some communities because those involved in it are often treated as role models. He added: “Drug money does have a habit of subverting communities – particularly in disadvantaged communities, it shades into the legitimate economy and people involved can become role models for young people, some people will see the lifestyle and want to replicate that.
“Te strategy for targeting organised crime needs to be big and wide ranging – it’s not just about getting the Mr Bigs but is also about focusing on the communities they operate in.
“Te police may be able to push Mr Bigs out, but the foot soldiers will still be there and the organised crime will simply continue.” MacAskill announced earlier this month that Scotland’s current eight police force model is to be disbanded, and replaced by a single, national service. It is hoped that a streamlined national policing
structure will be better equipped to deal with issues like organised crime. Meldrum said a single force would “best allow us to collectively tackle the threat from serious organised crime”. Pearson added: “Te move towards a national police force is a good thing and it is going to be very important that we get a national response to organised crime. “It is important that we have a policing
structure that is fit for the 21st century – the world of organised crime moves very quickly and it is important we have a policing structure that can match the challenges.”
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