Laws to ensure crime won't pay
By KEITH MOOR
05sep02
STREET level drug dealers, car thieves, burglars, abalone poachers, standover merchants and blackmailers face losing all their assets under new seizure laws.
Criminals' assets will be frozen upon or before arrest and automatically forfeited after conviction.
And police will be able to sell possessions likely to depreciate in value, such as luxury cars and boats, even before their owners appear in court.
[Edit: Who the hell starts a sentence with 'And..'? Where do they get these writers? BT
]
After conviction it will be up to the criminals to prove they legally obtained the seized assets, rather than for police to prove they were the proceeds of crime.
They will lose everything they own, from houses right down to watches and clothes, unless they can prove lawful acquisition.
Police Minister Andre Haermeyer yesterday defended the reversal of the usual onus of proof as necessary to hit criminals where it hurt most – in their hip pockets.
Greatly increasing the range of crimes subject to automatic forfeiture is just one of the sweeping changes to Victoria's Confiscation Act to be announced by the Government today.
Police also will be given the power to search and freeze gaming accounts, such as those operated by the TAB and Crown casino.
Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said police had long been hindered by a lack of access to such gaming accounts.
"There is a reasonable history to underpin that these are accounts that people use to wash money," she said.
Ms Nixon welcomed the reform package.
"We'll have greater powers and streamlined processes to strike at the heart of major criminals," she said.
"The changes will give great confidence to the community that crime does not pay."
Mr Haermeyer said the amendments would make Victoria's criminal asset seizure laws the toughest in Australia...
Full article at:
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,5035336%255E661,00.html
BigTrancer
[Edit: Fixed typo in title.]
[ 06 September 2002: Message edited by: BigTrancer ]