Projects boosted by crime cash
PR PICTURE, NO FEE FOR REPRODUCTION 14/2/12: Justice Minister David Ford is pictured taking part in Cage Soccer with young people from Strabane, at Parliament Buildings, as he announced the allocation of almost �800,000 to community projects funded through the confiscation of criminal assets. Picture: Michael Cooper
JUSTICE Minister David Ford yesterday stepped into a cage at Stormont to try his hand at a mobile football project – just one of dozens of community initiatives being funded using almost £800,000 seized from Northern Ireland criminals.
The football project is designed to provide a diversionary activity for young people and can be deployed at any time of the day or night, in almost any type of location.
It has been developed by Strabane Community Safety Partnership (CSP) and is to be rolled out to Antrim, Ballymoney, Cookstown, Londonderry, Omagh and Limavady,
Mr Ford said: “This is an excellent project that the young people clearly enjoy. To date some 1,600 young people have participated in Strabane Cage Soccer.
“I want to commend Strabane CSP and their partners for developing this scheme. I very much hope the other partnerships who can now introduce the scheme due to this funding enjoy the same success.”
He added: “Organised criminals are in the business of making as much money as possible without sparing a thought for who they harm along the way. The recovery of criminal assets hits them where it hurts – in their pockets.
“Recovering criminal assets is an important focus of the Organised Crime Task Force’s work and to reinvest those ill-gotten gains back into the community helps tackle crime and the fear of crime.”
Before devolution the Home Office took 50 per cent of such asset recoveries while the agencies seizing the assets took the other 50 per cent.
However, last year, Mr Ford struck a deal with the Home Office whereby his department would take control of the Home Office share. This is the first year the agreement has been implemented and is funding dozens of local community projects, as can be seen by the list opposite.
Mr Ford said: “I have lobbied to ensure this extra money remains in Northern Ireland and is targeted at preventing crime and the fear of crime.
“Obviously it is difficult to predict the level of funding that will be available in the future given changes year to year of assets recovered, but I am optimistic that there will be a general increase in funding in coming years.”
The minister used the event at Parliament Buildings to announce the first tranche of funding for a range of projects. They aim to reduce anti-social behaviour, support older people and victims of domestic violence, prevent rural crime and educate young people about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
Last year, the Department of Justice said there had been 141 cash seizures in Northern Ireland at a value of £1.3m.
The total amount of assets seized in both criminal and civil actions in 2010/11 in Northern Ireland was £4.4m.
The £800,000 being used to fund community projects by the Department of Justice in the latest announcement is from criminal seizures only and from financial year 2011/12.
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Tuesday 29 May 2012
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