What is Community Cashback?
Asset recovery is critical to the fight against crime and is one of the Government's top priorities for law enforcement. We are determined to stop criminals profiting from crimes which affect the lives of the law abiding public.
What is the Cash back fund?
Community Cashback is a new scheme in England and Wales which gives local people a say in how £4million of criminal assets (for example confiscated cash or property) should be spent in their communities.
The Community Cashback scheme will be reinvesting upto £4 million worth of recovered criminal assetts to be spent in local communities – local people will be benefiting from the money we have taken from criminals and give them confidence in the criminal justice service and a say in how it works. To find out more go to the Community Cashback website.
Each of the 42 criminal justice areas in England and Wales will have access to approx £95,000 to use on suitable community projects suggested by local people, funding around 100 projects.
The public have had their chance to nominate projects for funding and here you can find out about how the successful projects are getting on.
What are the benefits of Seizing criminal assets through Community Cashback?
- depriving criminals of their criminal assetts
- reducing the incentives for crime and the harm caused by crime
- promoting fairness and confidence in the criminal justice system.
Some FACTS about Community Cahsback
- There has been a £64 million increase in the value of assets recovered in the last five years with £148 million seized in 08/09.
- The Government is setting a new target for 2009-10 to double the amount seized to £250 million.
- The Government has committed to looking at ways communities might be given more of a say in how recovered assets are spent locally commitments (Engaging Communities in Criminal Justice Green Paper)
The schemes aims are:
- Preventing criminal activity and taking the cash out of crime by seizing criminal’s ill-gotten gains
- Give local people a say in how the recovered assets can be reinvested within their neighbourhoods and communities
- Boost public confidence in criminal justice services