Report 5: 2018

Confiscation of the Proceeds of Crime

Auditor General’s overview

By denying criminals their assets, the State government aims to disrupt criminal activity and reduce the incentive for people to engage in crime. The intent is to send a clear message to the community that crime does not pay. My report finds that the agencies responsible are adequately identifying, freezing and confiscating these assets.

However, there is more that can be done to maintain the assets, understand the outcomes to be achieved from funding agencies and identify opportunities to improve efficiency across the confiscations process. This is particularly important given the constrained resources that agencies are currently operating under.

Naturally the community can benefit when assets are confiscated to remove the incentive to commit crimes. While many of these benefits are difficult or impossible to quantify, some performance measures have been put in place.

The agencies involved in the process have differing views on whether there are issues and what needs to be done to address these. I accept these differing views and trust that my independent report will assist in airing and debating these matters.

On a final note, I was pleased to see that the Criminal Proceeds Confiscation Grants Program, which funds community based programs from the sale of confiscated assets, was soundly managed.

 
Page last updated: July 29, 2018

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