The disruption of crime in Scotland through non-conviction based asset forfeiture

Published date07 October 2013
Date07 October 2013
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-07-2013-0023
Pages379-388
AuthorMartin Collins,Colin King
Subject MatterAccounting & Finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial compliance/regulation
The disruption of crime in
Scotland through non-conviction
based asset forfeiture
Martin Collins
Civil Recovery Unit, Edinburgh, UK, and
Colin King
School of Law, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Abstract
Purpose – Targeting criminal assets plays a key role in tackling crime, yet there is a notable absence
of research on the operation and impact of this approach. This article calls for greater engagement
between policymakers, practitioners and researchers to address this. Using experiences from Scotland,
the article focuses on the use of civil recovery and identifies a number of areas that are in need of
further research. This paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach – This article is a collaborative effort by a member of the Scottish
Civil Recovery Unit and an academic researcher. The aim was to stimulate debate on the use of civil
recovery, its impact, and future research directions. It draws upon two case studies from Scotland to
illustrate how civil recovery has operated in practice.
Findings – There are important distinctions between the civil recovery regime in Scotland and the
regime that applies in other parts of the UK (e.g. the absence of “incentivisation”). There is a need to
consider how the impact of civil recovery can be measured, and there is scope for future research in
this area.
Research limitations/implications – There is a notable absence of empirical research on civil
recovery. The hope is that this article will lead to greater engagement between policymakers,
practitioners and researchers. There is a need for empirical research on areas such as has civil recovery
disrupted criminal activities, what intelligence gains does asset recovery bring, does asset recovery
offer value for money, how is “impact” to be measured, etc.
Practical implications – As civil recovery increases in popularity as a form of crime control, this
article calls for greater empirical research on the operation and impact of the civil process to tackling
criminal assets. This is especially important today as the European Union is investigating the
possibility of a European model of non-conviction based asset recovery.
Originality/value – Discussion of civil recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act2002 tends to focus
on England and Wales. This article considers civil recovery from a Scottish perspective.
Keywords Cashback into Communities, Civil recovery,Incentivisation, Organised crime,
Proceeds of crime,Scottish Ministers
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Following-the-money is playing an increasingly central role in the fight against crime.
In the face of growing threats from, for example, organised crime, corruption,
terrorism, there is a growing tendency to target financial assets of those engaged
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1368-5201.htm
The views expressed here are in Collins’ personal capacity and may not, therefore, be ascribed to
the Scottish Ministers.
Journal of Money Laundering Control
Vol. 16 No. 4, 2013
pp. 379-388
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-07-2013-0023
The disruption
of crime in
Scotland
379

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