Ten years after the launch of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), Greater Manchester Police is continuing to reinvest its portion of ill-gotten gains into worthy community projects, helping to break down the barriers between children and the police.
Youth groups in Bury and south Manchester are just some of the initiatives that have reaped the benefits.
And December 2012 sees the Force end the year pioneering a project which has helped officers engage with thousands of schoolchildren around Greater Manchester.
The LionHeart project involves students harnessing their inner-entrepreneur from coaches who mentor them in a business challenge.
For the second year, however, GMP has worked with project organisers to tailor an activity which challenges children’s preconceptions about crime where they live.
The children are invited to use their imagination and come up with an invention for a new crime-fighting tool, which they will need to explain to their peers and a judging panel made up of officers and business representatives.
Detective Chief Inspector Tony Creely, who oversees the project, said: “Schoolchildren get the chance to meet police officers face to face and work with them as part of this activity.
“The students and officers are given a reality check on the issues that affect us all. We capture the input we get from students and take it away.
“Their impressions of the police are often shaped by what they hear or see in the news, or their limited dealings with officers on patrol in uniform.
“Understandably, these experiences can form natural barriers for children, but this work enables the barriers to be broken down ‘on both sides.’
A visit to Oldham Academy North today is one of 30 schools to be visited between October 2012 and March 2013, during which officers and coaches will have engaged with 5000 young people.
The GMP LionHeart project culminates in a competition, where 10-strong teams of year 9 and 10 pupils throughout Greater Manchester have had their proposed crime-fighting tools scrutinised by a judging panel.
The winning teams from each school (30 in total) will attend a final at Greater Manchester Police Force Headquarters on Friday 22 March 2013.
The programme for 2012/13 has been funded entirely by criminals’ cash at a cost of £100,000.
DCI Creely added: “Having seen the impact of this work first hand, I cannot think of a more suitable way to spend money that has come from crooks.
“This project also helps us develop our policing strategies in the long term.”
Funding has also been granted to other projects which not only enable barriers to be broken down, but also reduce anti-social behaviour.
Local officers’ visits to a Friday night open access session at the Burnage Multi Agency Group, a youth club in Burnage, have now been supplemented with hot meals for children who can take part in activities with officers and youth workers.
In Bury, criminals’ money has paid for an initiative with the charity “Redeem in Our Communities” (ROC) , to provide free 5 a side football at Radcliffe Borough Football Club which keeps children off the streets and build a relationship with local officers.
Since the launch of this programme in January 2012, there was a 51% reduction in incidents of antisocial behaviour in Radcliffe compared to the previous year. So far this year, police have had to deal with 300 less incidents of antisocial behaviour in the area.
Deputy Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “As a police force, we are privileged to have the opportunity to decide where to reinvest money from criminals and we believe the best is yet to come.
“We have excellent local knowledge of the communities we serve, which includes the risks posed by crime, so we have a unique perspective as we go about our deliberations.
“Naturally we want to nominate causes we think will help keep communities safe and reduce crime, which is why youth clubs and parks which improve community cohesion have been chosen, as well as innovative projects such as LionHeart.
“The work done in Radcliffe gives a concrete example of the benefits of activities like this; 300 less incidents of anti-social behaviour means 300 less decent members of the public being upset, aggrieved or inconvenienced, and 300 less occasions where officers and local authorities have to respond.
“The reduction in anti-social behaviour also demonstrates that children there feel less disengaged, less inclined to commit crime and feel more a part of our communities.
“So it is no exaggeration to say that that we are spending this money to think of ways to serve our communities and keep people safe for generations to come.”
In 2012 alone, judges have ordered that criminals repay a total of £3,378,969, from their cash and assets, following financial investigations carried out by Greater Manchester Police, targeting fraudsters, drug dealers and those involved in organised crime.
Once money and assets have been recovered from criminals and where possible victims have been reimbursed, a process then begins where the police receive 17.5% of proceeds.
Specific government guidelines have advised forces that any money it receives under POCA should be spent on worthy community projects or a service to the community.