Cash seized from gangsters should be used by police to tackle a surge in serious organised crime, a watchdog has said.
Craig Naylor, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, said ill-gotten gains should be directed to funding the fight against gangland crime.
He said the return of ‘significant violence and disorder associated with serious organised crime groups’ meant the problem was ‘increasingly complex’.
It comes amid a spate of violence involving rival crime groups in Scotland and beyond – including the fatal shootings of two men who were both major players in the Glasgow-based Lyons crime clan in a bar in Spain.
In his annual report, Mr Naylor called for an Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS), where Police Scotland – and other approved bodies – could receive money raised from criminals’ seized assets to spend directly on fighting crime.
A similar scheme is already operational in the rest of the UK. Cash seized from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) is currently paid into government funds under a scheme called CashBack for Communities.
Since 2008, £156million has been spent on community initiatives such as playparks to ‘improve the quality of life’ of young people.
Mr Naylor said: ‘The Home Office encourages agencies to invest ARIS funds into areas that will increase asset recovery or, where appropriate, to fund local crime fighting priorities. This process is not applicable in Scotland.’
James ‘The Don’ White was jailed for almost 10 years
Jamie ‘Iceman’ Stevenson was jailed for a £100m plot to smuggle cocaine in banana boxes
During 2023-24 more than £10million was recovered in Scotland using Proceeds of Crime legislation. Elsewhere in the UK ‘proceeds of crime’ assets to the value of £243million were recovered during 2023-24.
From this, £98.1million of ARIS money was distributed to fund crime-fighting.
Mr Naylor said gangland incidents are ‘often contained within a limited geographical area, but on this occasion have stretched across the east and west regions of the country’.
Meanwhile, a report by forensics experts submitted to the Scottish Police Authority said the pressure of work caused by gangland crime was impacting on other routine casework.
It said that further overtime is being ‘worked across the relevant teams, however there will inevitably be an impact on some of the routine casework being undertaken within the service’.
The report added: ‘Managers will continue to liaise with Police Scotland and COPFS (Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service) colleagues to ensure that this does not impact on high priority casework.’
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: ‘Disrupting organised crime remains a priority for the Scottish Government.
‘Money recovered through the POCA is primarily used to fund community projects aimed at diverting young people away from crime.
James ‘The Don’ White and Jamie ‘Iceman’ Stevenson were both involved in international drug smuggling.
Stevenson orchestrated a plot to smuggle cocaine worth £100m from South America in boxes of bananas and is currently serving a 16 year jail term.
White was extradited from Brazil and in August 2023 jailed for 10 years for serious organised crime and firearms offences.
