New control orders for organised crime

Monday, 17 July 2006 12:00 AM

Individuals and businesses suspected of being involved in organised crime could be handed the equivalent of control orders under new plans unveiled today.

The Home Office said the civil orders, which would restrict an individual's ability to travel or communicate with certain people, could be used where there was insufficient evidence for a prosecution, or while waiting for a case to come to court.

A court would decide whether such restrictions were necessary and proportionate to the threat posed by organised crime, and the government believes they could act as a major tool in tackling the threat posed by major crime.

"We are determined to bear down on the people who are engaged in organised criminal activity in the UK, and we believe that today's proposals will help to bring them to justice faster and more effectively," said home secretary John Reid.

However, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg dismissed the plans as a "half-baked gimmick" that would do nothing to tackle organised crime.

"The government is now suggesting using a system designed to deal with young tearaways to tackle international criminal rackets run by the Tony Sopranos of this world," he said.

"We will welcome any serious attempt to deal with the growing scourge of organised crime, but at first glance this looks like the worst kind of half-baked gimmick based on a lazy view that the only way to fight crime is to circumvent the criminal justice system."

In a consultation paper published today, the Home Office also proposes improved data sharing between the public and private sector on suspected fraudsters, and a new offence of encouraging or assisting a criminal act.

"The proposals we are putting forward are designed to prevent these criminals from operating on UK soil, to disrupt their activities, target them more effectively, and make it harder for them to evade detection," Mr Reid said.

Earlier this year, Tony Blair launched the serious and organised crime agency (Soca), which will employ up to 5,000 people with the powers of police, customs and immigration officials to tackle crimes such as people trafficking and money laundering.

They would have powers to force individuals to answer questions in interviews with prosecutors and produce documents on demand, although this information would not be able to be used in court against them.

"Organised crime is an insidious scourge on our society and we want to ensure that the UK is tackling it at every level," Mr Reid said.

Today's announcement comes as new laws to tackle jury tampering come into effect. The measures included in the Provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 allow the prosecution to apply for trial without jury if there is a real danger of jury tampering.

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