Assets Recovery Agency and PSNI brief Strabane DPP
October 2006
Strabane District Policing Partnership (DPP) hosted an information evening focusing on serious and organised crime last night (Thursday 12 October 2006). During the meeting, delegates listened to key note speeches from Alan McQuillian, Deputy Director of the Assets Recovery Agency, the PSNI Economic Crime Bureau and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. The event was supported by the Northern Ireland Policing Board and hosted in partnership with Derry DPP.
Speaking after the event, DPP Chairman, Councillor James Emery said “Tonight we gave delegates from Strabane District the opportunity to hear about the powerful tools available to the Assets Recovery Agency, HMRC and PSNI as they work together to tackle organised crime by hitting criminals where it hurts – in their pockets. Together these agencies work to ensure that crime doesn’t pay. They aim to confront organised crime gangs at all levels - taking the profit out of crime through criminal proceedings, civil recovery action, criminal confiscation or taxation.
Vice Chair Noelle Donnell said: “Our consultations to date have shown that serious and organised crime is clearly a concern for people living within Strabane District. Organised crime is harmful. It impacts on our economy, it creates victims in every part of our community, from shopkeepers robbed at gunpoint, to families destroyed by drugs, to citizens whose safety and livelihoods are jeopardised by counterfeit goods or extortionists. We keen to act on this concern and to ensure that the proper agencies were working to address these concerns at a local level.”
The Chairman continued:
“Organised crime has a detrimental impact on members of the community and businesses right across Northern Ireland, and not least here in Strabane District. In hosting this event, Strabane DPP are showing our commitment to engaging with the local people to address organised crime. We want to help to protect our community, our environment and honest businesses and jobs. This is one example of how Strabane DPP is working with local people to tackle crime and make our community safer.”
