Kennedy calls for public support in fight against crime

Security Minister Jane Kennedy has called on the general public to help support the fight against organised crime across Northern Ireland.

Ms Kennedy, who is also Chair of the Organised Crime Task Force, made the statement as she addressed an audience of local business people and elected representatives in Armagh Planetarium.

The meeting was the first of a series of awareness evenings on organised crime and the work of the Task Force.

The Minister said: “I am realistic about the fact that there are sizeable sections in our communities who don’t support an assault on organised crime and one of the greatest challenges we face is to persuade the public to support us in ridding their communities of this scourge. We must always remember that there is no such thing as victimless crime.

“Organised crime is dangerous. It produces countless victims. It has no place on our streets and our communities need to unite with government and law enforcement agencies in combating it, before its corrosive effect eats through the very core of society.

Ms Kennedy said the government could "lead from the front" but could not succeed without the help of the community at large and that the nightmare years of The Troubles should not be replaced by the emergence of "a mafia culture of gangsterism and racketeering".

She added: “The Organised Crime Task Force through its multi-agency expert groups, are prioritising a series of strategic areas including extortion, drugs, money laundering, oils-related fraud, tobacco and alcohol duty evasion, vehicle crime and counterfeiting of currency. Bringing the agencies involved in a collective way, under the umbrella of The Task Force, allows us to share information and agree priorities, while respecting operational autonomy and independence.”

The establishment of the Assets Recovery Agency early next year is viewed as a significant move. The Agency will have the power to confiscate criminal assets by putting the onus on the criminals to prove that their wealth has been obtained legitimately.

Announced in September 2000, the Organised Crime Task Force members include HM Customs and Excise, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Office, Home Office, Inland Revenue, National Criminal Intelligence Service and other government agencies.

(MB)