Post by Taxigirl on Nov 24, 2004 8:01:11 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4037297.stm
A new bill aimed at tackling organised crime will be published by the government on Wednesday morning.
Its centrepiece, a UK-wide agency to combat drug trafficking and people-smuggling gangs, will start work in less than 18 months.
The bill also includes plans for plea bargaining, giving lesser sentences to offenders who help the prosecution.
It marks an assault on crime networks which are estimated to make £40bn a year from organised crime.
The Serious and Organised Crime Agency, dubbed "the British FBI", will be under the operational leadership of Bill Hughes - the current boss of the National Crime Squad - and made up of officers taken from existing agencies.
Ex-MI5 boss Sir Stephen Lander will be the agency's chairman.
Its officers could be trained by the security services to track down key organised crime figures.
Alongside Soca, the bill will also give new powers to police and prosecutors.
They will be able to monitor the finances of convicted criminals and, in some cases, compel suspects to answer questions in interviews and produce documents.
'Securing convictions'
The government also wants to formalise by statute the practice of turning Queen's evidence, where a witness testifies against accomplices in return for a lighter sentence.
BBC correspondent Danny Shaw said ministers believed such arrangements could be used more often to secure convictions.
But the powers would have to be carefully applied to prevent criminals from giving false information against innocent people, he added.
Plans for Soca were announced in the Queen's Speech on Tuesday.
Following the announcement, a Home Office spokesman said the Soca bill would bring about a "radical" overhaul of police powers and would extend powers of community support officers.
"These changes would better equip both police officers and police staff with the necessary powers to fight crime and anti-social behaviour in communities and free up officers for frontline duties," he said.
The Queen's Speech contained no details of the overhaul, but a consultation paper published in August suggested extending the power of arrest to include all offences.
It said community support officers may be allowed to search people and enforce by-laws.
Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said: "The police would have a power to arrest however minor the suspected offence.
"That is not an appropriate balance between the liberty of the citizen and the needs of the police."
'Fostering fear'
Plans for the new bill were among a number of security measures announced as part of government's legislative plans in the Queen's Speech.
Plans to fight terrorism, crime, anti-social behaviour and introduce ID cards dominated the speech on Tuesday.
Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats accused the government of "scaremongering" and fostering a climate of fear, a charge denied by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The threats faced by Britain and other major countries were real, he insisted.
A new bill aimed at tackling organised crime will be published by the government on Wednesday morning.
Its centrepiece, a UK-wide agency to combat drug trafficking and people-smuggling gangs, will start work in less than 18 months.
The bill also includes plans for plea bargaining, giving lesser sentences to offenders who help the prosecution.
It marks an assault on crime networks which are estimated to make £40bn a year from organised crime.
The Serious and Organised Crime Agency, dubbed "the British FBI", will be under the operational leadership of Bill Hughes - the current boss of the National Crime Squad - and made up of officers taken from existing agencies.
Ex-MI5 boss Sir Stephen Lander will be the agency's chairman.
Its officers could be trained by the security services to track down key organised crime figures.
Alongside Soca, the bill will also give new powers to police and prosecutors.
They will be able to monitor the finances of convicted criminals and, in some cases, compel suspects to answer questions in interviews and produce documents.
'Securing convictions'
The government also wants to formalise by statute the practice of turning Queen's evidence, where a witness testifies against accomplices in return for a lighter sentence.
BBC correspondent Danny Shaw said ministers believed such arrangements could be used more often to secure convictions.
But the powers would have to be carefully applied to prevent criminals from giving false information against innocent people, he added.
Plans for Soca were announced in the Queen's Speech on Tuesday.
Following the announcement, a Home Office spokesman said the Soca bill would bring about a "radical" overhaul of police powers and would extend powers of community support officers.
"These changes would better equip both police officers and police staff with the necessary powers to fight crime and anti-social behaviour in communities and free up officers for frontline duties," he said.
The Queen's Speech contained no details of the overhaul, but a consultation paper published in August suggested extending the power of arrest to include all offences.
It said community support officers may be allowed to search people and enforce by-laws.
Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said: "The police would have a power to arrest however minor the suspected offence.
"That is not an appropriate balance between the liberty of the citizen and the needs of the police."
'Fostering fear'
Plans for the new bill were among a number of security measures announced as part of government's legislative plans in the Queen's Speech.
Plans to fight terrorism, crime, anti-social behaviour and introduce ID cards dominated the speech on Tuesday.
Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats accused the government of "scaremongering" and fostering a climate of fear, a charge denied by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The threats faced by Britain and other major countries were real, he insisted.