Pubdate: Fri, 29 Apr 2005
Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
Copyright: The Windsor Star 2005
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501
Author: Doug Schmidt
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

FORCES EYE CRIME PROCEEDS

Municipal Police Services Lobbying For Share Of Assets, Money

Windsor's cops want to share in the action when it comes to divvying up the 
seized assets of criminals.

"We need to access that money," Chief Glenn Stannard said of the increasing 
pool of money and materials being confiscated by police agencies under 
proceeds of crime legislation.

All such criminally obtained loot now goes into provincial coffers, but 
Ontario's police departments are clamouring for a piece of the pie.

"There's tens of millions of dollars in a pot in Toronto," Stannard said 
Thursday. "The problem is there's no way for a municipality to access that 
money."

Stannard and his municipal counterparts across Ontario are lobbying to have 
some of the money and assets they seize under proceeds of crime legislation 
returned to them to invest in more of the types of investigations that lead 
to such seizures in the first place.

Stannard can't give an estimate on the value of what's been seized locally 
as a result of criminal investigations, but said it must be growing.

Earlier this month, city police seized assets worth an estimated $500,000 
- -- including a South Windsor home, east-side business and eight vehicles -- 
from a local man accused of selling cocaine for the Hells Angels.

Last July, city police made the largest seizure of money from a drug bust 
in Windsor history. Executing a narcotics search warrant at the downtown 
Harvest Moon hemp store, police also seized cash totalling nearly $250,000.

Stannard told the Windsor Police Services Board Thursday that the Ontario 
Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) is embarking on a campaign to have 
the government change existing proceeds of crime legislation to allow 
municipal forces to benefit financially from those seizures.

Local police departments want to "take that money and reinvest it back into 
the community so we can fund further investigations," he said, adding 
"municipalities have been shut out of this."
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MAP posted-by: Beth