Operation Dismantle
Crime doesn’t pay for these crooks
YOU would never have thought that Dorset's criminals would ever help pay towards the policing of the county.
But since 2003 a new generation of crooks has been created who are doing just that.
And you'll be pleased to hear the criminals' contributions are by no means voluntary.
Over the past five years Dorset Police have forced countless criminals to hand over a staggering £7.55 million of illegal earnings by making orders for cash forfeitures and confiscations through the courts under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2003 (POCA).
"We're hitting the crooks where it hurts the most - their pockets," said Russell Oaten, Proceeds of Crime Act administrator and trainer based at the force's economic crime unit.
"Our aim is to take the cash out of crime. We want to try and keep the criminals on the back foot and we do it very well in Dorset."
An added incentive associated with POCA is that a proportion of the money recovered is returned to Dorset Police and used to fund frontline policing.
To date just over £1.4 million has been ploughed back into the force's coffers and, in previous years, this money has been spent on recruiting more staff to deal with POCA forfeitures and confiscations and the force's Operation Dispossess advertising campaign. The aim of POCA is to confiscate illegal earnings and demand that criminals, including drug dealers, arms traffickers or brothel keepers, hand over every penny they have made from their dodgy dealings.
In the recently published national league tables, Dorset Police was ranked first in the south west for cash forfeitures and confiscation orders. It is the second year the force has been ranked in the top five forces across England and Wales for assets recovered per 1,000 head of population.
Mr Oaten added: "The whole ethos of POCA is we can legally hit criminals where it hurts - in their pockets. It's not right that people who have been convicted of acquisitive crime are still able to send their children to private schools, go on costly foreign holidays and own properties overseas when the rest of us have to work for a living.
"There is some degree of satisfaction when someone loses how ever much money they have made from crime - whether it is £10 or £100,000 we are keen to seize assets."
Habitual shoplifter Raymond Raphael Crockford, 63, of Hillfield Close, Weymouth, was found guilty in August 2006 of converting criminal property, attempted theft and possession of criminal property.
After Crockford was arrested for trying to steal bottles of brandy, police raided his home and uncovered a treasure trove of stolen goods. He lived in a £500,000 house and enjoyed regular holidays abroad. He also owned a 50-inch plasma screen and a new Mercedes Benz car. In May last year a judge made a confiscation order for £470,000 which would require Crockford to sell his home.
Hussein Tourh, 24, was jailed for 25 years in December for running a multi-million pound drugs empire from a house in Southwood Avenue, Southbourne. When the house was raided by officers in November 2006 they found a sophisticated drugs factory where pure cocaine was mixed with other material to boost profits. Officers also found £1.8 million in cash, which was seized and has been shared between the Home Office and Dorset Police. The confiscation process is continuing.
Bryan Gosling, 59, of Bigfield, North Trigon, was found guilty of operating one of the biggest cannabis factories ever found in Dorset. Officers discovered a sophisticated operation under a barn at his farm near Wareham and estimate the crop would have produced high quality skunk worth a street value of £40,000. A judge ordered to have £669,110 of his assets confiscated.
7:00pm Friday 1st February 2008
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
