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Councils have been praised for using accredited financial investigators to catch criminals preying on local residents and defrauding public bodies. The Local Government Association has published details of councils' successful use of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) to catch and prosecute local criminals before confiscating their assets. Under the Home Office's POCA incentive scheme, councils can use accredited financial investigators to recover up to 37.5% of confiscated assets following the arrest of criminals who benefit from local crimes, and can reinvest the proceeds back into local public services. A list of successful prosecutions by councils in recent years includes action against local benefit fraudsters, people selling counterfeit goods, illegal fly-tippers, and loan sharks operating in deprived areas. Cash from successful confiscations has been used to finance park-regeneration schemes, anti-graffiti projects and youth clubs. Cllr Paul Bettison, chair of Local Government Regulation, said: ‘The POCA is a valuable crime-busting tool for councils. With any crime someone always suffers the consequences. ‘Whether it's selling harmful counterfeit goods, damaging the environment, exploiting vulnerable tenants or charging outrageous amounts of loan interest to people at the end of their financial tether, it simply won't be tolerated by councils.' Examples of successful use of POCA in recent years include the prosecution of a loan shark in Manchester, who was convicted of blackmail and illegal money laundering, and ordered to repay £1.2m. Trading standards officers at the London boroughs of Brent and Harrow, meanwhile, uncovered a company which was selling fake handbags, resulting in fines of £400,000,and the councils receiving £132,000 through the Home Office's incentive scheme. Prosecutions of student landlords squeezing – unsafely – large numbers of tenants into properties also feature highly on the association's list.

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WHITEHALL

LGA praise after use of POCA snares criminals

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