07 April 2006
The government's efforts to step up the fight against serious and organised crime are being undermined by its failure to introduce a police force for the UK's borders, according to leading Conservatives.
While Home Secretary Charles Clarke hailed the launch of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency on April 3 as a 'step change' in the fight against organised crime, shadow police reform minister Nick Herbert queried how effective it could be without a force dedicated solely to the protection of the UK's borders.
'It's surprising that the opportunity wasn't taken at the time of the discussion about the launch of this new agency to introduce a borders police as a complementary measure,' he said.
Herbert added that without such a police force there would be a significant gap in defences against organised crime, illegal immigration and terrorism.
But Clarke said Soca would be a powerful new body, working across organisational boundaries and focusing resources where problems were the greatest. It will bring together expertise from the Revenue & Customs Department and the immigration service as well the National Crime Squad and the National Criminal Intelligence Agency.
'Drug and people trafficking will be [Soca's] top priorities along with fraud and identity theft,' he said.
'Organised crime is a massive and growing problem affecting every neighbourhood in the UK. It creates huge misery for decent people, damaging our communities to the tune of over £20bn in criminal profit – more than £300 for every person in the country.'
Soca officers will be able to draw on new powers to compel individuals to answer questions and produce documents on demand as well as striking deals with informants and convicted offenders.
Bill Hughes, director general of Soca, said: 'Soca has already been working with others to start building the coalition of forces – not just with law enforcement but with others in the public and private sectors – who together will change the climate for organised crime in this country.'
The Association of Chief Police Officers denied that Soca would be a copy of the US's Federal Bureau of Investigation. President Ken Jones said: 'Soca will not be a British FBI. It will be a bespoke UK solution to our organised crime problem, which combines national expertise and law enforcement networks to provide a formidable force for good.'
PFapr2006
