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Why Should They Campaign

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Criminals are living off the proceeds of their crimes – at our expense

Why should they?

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, criminals can have their illegal earnings and possessions taken away – even if they are not convicted of the crimes they have committed.

Through "Why should they?" communities - throughout the country - are coming together to do something about it.

Where a group or individual suspects someone of living off the proceeds of crime they can call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111 or visit their website which is www.crimestoppers-uk.org

That's all it takes

Callers are not be asked to give their name or provide any information they are not happy to give.

Click here to listen to our POCA radio advert

The Campaign

The Why should they? campaign was devised and launched by the West Yorkshire Criminal Justice Board and West Yorkshire Police with the support of Crimestoppers

The key message

The key message running throughout the campaign is that...there are criminals in our community who are living off the proceeds of their crime - at our expense. Why should they?

Through POCA, an individual can now have their assets confiscated if there is a genuine suspicion that these were obtained illegally – and the individual cannot prove differently.

This can include the assets of family members if these can be linked in.

This is because confiscation through POCA is achieved through the civil courts, which requires a lower standard of proof than criminal court proceedings.

The POCA investigations

POCA investigations are undertaken and proceedings instigated by police officers working through the economic crime units, criminal investigation divisions or through specially set up POCA teams – as in West Yorkshire.

They will receive information on those suspected of living off the proceeds of crime through a wide number of sources including other police and community support officers and individual members of the public.

If police officers suspect someone is living off the proceeds of crime they will contact their POCA teams direct.

Members of the public who have similar suspicions should contact Crimestoppers.