Make Criminals Pay Campaign
Last year our successful 'Make criminals pay' campaign highlighted the aims and objectives of the Proceeds of Crime Act. It was devised and launched by Suffolk Criminal Justice Board with the support from Crimestoppers.
The key message running throughout the campaign is that... there are criminals in our community who are living off the proceeds of their crime - at our expense and we are asking the Suffolk public to tell us if they know of somone who fits this description.
Make Criminals Pay 2009
The campaign got off to a flying start on 13th July. A team of Financial Investigators, CPS Lawyers, and Trading Standards’ officials took to the streets to inform the public of how they are stepping up the pace to stop criminals in their tracks and bankrupt their criminal enterprises using the powers afforded under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA).
In addition to direct community engagement across the county, bus adverts were positioned inside every bus across Suffolk, a radio advertising campaign was conducted with Heart FM, and a significant amount of press coverage was achieved.
The aim of the project was to increase public confidence in the Criminal Justice System and partner agencies’ ability to strip criminals of their ill-gotten gains and provide the public with the confidence to report anyone they suspect living off the proceeds of crime to Crimestoppers.
During the community engagement element of the campaign, over 500 people were polled in just three days. This involved taking a POCA branded mobile Police Unit to the town centre locations of Bury St Edmunds, Lowestoft and Ipswich, as shown below:
Each person polled was taken through a series of ‘did you know’ facts about the Proceeds of Crime Act specific to Suffolk and at the end of our survey they were asked ‘ Has your confidence in the Criminal Justice System in Suffolk increased since hearing about the Proceeds of Crime Act?’. The answer in 85% of cases was ‘yes’. The improved level of confidence has also been recorded by area. Bury St Edmunds showed the highest improvement in level of confidence in the criminal justice system and Ipswich the lowest, as shown next:
Bury St Edmunds – 88% of those interviewed felt their confidence in the CJS in Suffolk had improved since hearing about the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Lowestoft – 86% of those interviewed felt their confidence in the CJS in Suffolk had improved since hearing about the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Ipswich – 80% of those interviewed felt their confidence in the CJS in Suffolk had improved since hearing about the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The improved level of confidence could also be attributed to the amount of press coverage on the subject of POCA during the week. The East Anglian Daily Times published a number of pieces during that week, including a double-page spread to commence the campaign. Coverage was also obtained across the county in local papers including the Bury Free Press, Lowestoft Journal, Haverhill Echo, and Ipswich Evening Star. Radio coverage was also obtained throughout the week with BBC Radio Suffolk, Town 102, The Beach, Ipswich Community Radio and Heart FM.
Furthermore, the campaign generated calls into Crimestoppers relating to those suspected of living off the proceeds of crime, of which five enquiries are already being followed up by Suffolk Constabulary.
The Planning is now taking place to run our 'Make Criminals Pay' Campaign in 2010 so listen out for more updates!