CPS collects £1.3m from criminals in West Mercia Police area in a year (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

CPS collects £1.3m from criminals in West Mercia Police area in a year

9:20am Monday 4th June 2012 in Local

WEST Midlands Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) collected £1,313,670.11 from criminals in the West Mercia Police region from proceeds of crime enforcement in 2011-2012 - up 14 per cent on the year before.

A breakdown of figures across the four areas which make up the prosecution region shows that in the last financial year, West Midlands CPS recovered £3,173,345.42 across the West Midlands.

This year’s performance figures are the best on record in terms of money collected.

Adrian Phillips, head of the West Midlands CPS Proceeds of Crime Unit, said: “Our mission is to deprive defendants of the profit that they make from crime and, by doing so, we are sending out a clear message to criminals that crime will not pay in the West Midlands.

“Despite the economic climate and drop in house prices, we have exceeded our target by recovering over £800,000 more than last year, with the total amount of monies taken from criminals in the region exceeding £6 million.

“Even if it takes us years to recover the money due, we will continue to work with our criminal justice partners to use the powers given to us to reduce crime, disrupt criminal enterprises and confiscate property and monies obtained through crime.

“Many criminals think that they can delay the inevitable process of paying us what is due. However, what they must realise is that we will add an interest of eight per cent on any balance outstanding, so delaying the payment only means they will owe us more.

“The money we recover is used to compensate victims or is paid to the Government to fight crime.

“To that effect we are committed to working with the court’s Regional Confiscation Unit and local police forces to use every tool at our disposal, such as enforcement receivers, default sentences, distress warrants and restraint orders which are used to preserve assets in the UK and abroad, in order to hit criminals in their pockets and force them to pay back their ill-gotten gains.”

In the Staffordshire Police area, £1,358.638.05 was recovered in 2011-12 and in the Warwickshire Police area it was £531,067.55.