Drugs: Crime

(asked on 29th January 2015) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average value was of a confiscation order for drug-related crimes in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.


Answered by
Mike Penning Portrait
Mike Penning
This question was answered on 3rd February 2015

The table below shows the total number of confiscation orders issued for 2012/13 and 2013/14. It also shows the average value of confiscation orders made for drug related offences. The average value data is based on the ‘current’ order value and not the ‘original’ order value to ensure the data accurately captures amendments to the values following successful appeals or variations.

2012/2013

2013/2014

Total orders issued

6401

6033

Average value of orders issued (drug related offences)

£16,336.86

£16,490.30

Confiscation orders are one of the key mechanisms available to the Government to deprive criminals of the proceeds of their crimes. They are based on the notional benefit attributed to the crime and may therefore exceed the value of realisable assets that are known to the Court at the time of imposition. Crucially, an order that is outstanding stops the criminal benefitting from the proceeds of crime and ensures that, if assets are discovered in the future, they can be seized.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and other agencies involved in confiscation order enforcement take the recovery of criminal assets very seriously and are working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority.

The amount defendants repaid from their criminal activity across all agencies has increased for the last five consecutive years and we are currently on course to have another highly effective year. £137.2million was collected in 2013/14 (which represented a 4% increase on the total recovered during 2012/13); as at the end of December 2014, £113 million had been recovered, which is an increase of 10% on the same period last year.

The majority of Confiscation Orders (52% by value) are enforced by agencies other than HM Courts & Tribunals Service. These agencies include the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Department for Work and Pensions and local authorities.

Reticulating Splines