POLICE seized more than cash and assets worth more than £1 million from criminals over the last year.

Figures from the Home Office reveal that Sussex Police collected roughly £1.5 million from the proceeds of crime in 2020-21.

Of this, around £1.2 million was obtained through confiscation orders, with officers deploying civil powers to take another £344,900 in cash and assets from offenders.

The total collected is down by around 23 per cent on the previous year.

Courts can use sentencing powers to hand down confiscation orders, while authorities can also use civil powers to deprive offenders of the proceeds of crime.

Across England and Wales, police forces collected around £96 million in 2020-21, down from £101 million.

The use of civil powers to seize assets increased over the last year, but there was a sharp drop in the amount paid via confiscation orders.

Experts say that disruption to the criminal justice system from the coronavirus pandemic helped contribute to the drop - with a reduction in the number of orders made as courts prioritised trials for the most serious offences.

Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association Jo Sidhu QC said the pandemic exacerbated existing problems within the justice system.

He said: “Cuts to police numbers has meant fewer reported offences are properly investigated.

"Fewer prosecutions reach the courts meaning necessarily fewer convictions from which to pursue recovery proceedings – these in turn require local police forces to investigate and recover assets and forces are suffering in every region from shortages to both people and skills."

Adrian Foster, of the Crown Prosecution Service's proceeds of crime division, said: “The closure of courts and suspension of auctions and house sales during the height of the pandemic has severely impacted on the amount paid by individuals towards their confiscation orders this year.

“But as courts recover, we are determined to ensure criminals do not benefit from their ill-gotten gains.”

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