Pioneered in the USA, many countries around the world now use stand-alone civil proceedings as a means of recovering proceeds of crime.They include Italy, South Africa, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Fiji, Canada and Australia.The proceedings can be more effective than those dependent on a criminal prosecution.In England, £20,530 [$33,210] was forfeited to the courts in Yorkshire last month following a money laundering investigation involving a man from the city of Wakefield.The civil application followed the search of a home in July 2009 when police recovered the cash from underneath a couch. A 33-year-old old local man was arrested but released without charge.While there was insufficient evidence for a criminal case, officers from Wakefield District Division Proceeds of Crime Team took the man to civil court instead. There they proved that the money was either obtained through crime, or was intended for the purposes of crime. He was made to hand it over.Gwent Police in Wales seized enough cash and assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act in the past five years to fund five new jobs.Head of the Criminal Investigation Department, Chief Superintendent Ray Wise told BBC News: “Those who make money from crime can become icons in their local community. People on local estates with no visible form of income [are] driving around in new cars, walking round in bling and enjoying plasma screen TVs. When we are able to seize those cars and luxury items and even seize their houses, that’s a better form of justice for people to see sometimes.”Police in Leicestershire, England, used online auction site eBay to reclaim the value of goods confiscated from criminals. Everything from home cinema sets to computer consoles went up on the auction site during a six-month trial launched in 2009.The Commonwealth has produced model provisions to serve as a template for jurisdictions that wish to introduce Proceeds of Crime civil legislation. Bermuda’s Government announced yesterday that it plans to do just that [see main story.]However, the use of such proceedings elsewhere have prompted complaints about innocent persons being deprived of their lawful property. Asked to comment from a Bermuda perspective, defence lawyer and former Attorney General Phil Perinchief said: “Given the prevailing lawlessness in general and acts of gun violence in particular, the anticipated legislation by the Minister of National Security in principle and on the face of it appears correct.“The trick is getting the right balance between civil rights and freedoms and ‘acting in the public interest’ when protecting the wider community in getting the job done.”He said the Bermuda Constitution “allows for a socially acceptable degree of limitation on civil and constitutional rights and freedoms when that limitation is in the public interest or respects the rights and freedoms of others or the community at large”.However, he said the “devil is in the details” of the proposed legislation, which will need to be carefully vetted by Parliament.“Lawmakers must be vigilant to ensure that the correct balance is struck. It should be an interesting debate,” heReport sources: Wikipedia, BBC News, West Yorkshire Police.Ill-gotten gains netted in BermudaProposed new legislation could see suspected criminals forced to hand over their ill-gotten gains, even if they’ve not been charged with a crime.The move would amend the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997 to allow civil court proceedings. The act already allows prosecutors to net the assets of crooks who’ve been convicted in the criminal courts. The money raised goes toward funding crime-prevention work.High-profile Proceeds of Crime cases handled by Bermuda’s criminal courts in recent years include:l Roger Cox, convicted of laundering money from underground gambling dens, agreed last month to forfeit $1.47 million in assets including cash and jewellery.l Convicted cannabis trafficker Justin Guy DeSilva was ordered to hand over almost $70,000 in profits from his criminal enterprise in 2008. The order represented the value of items he owned including a truck, boat, large television and watch although he did not have to forfeit the items themselves.l Convicted cocaine and cannabis trafficker Allan Daniels was ordered to hand over $62,357 from his crimes, including his BMW car, Rolex watch and large amounts of cash in 2008.l Former powerboat champion and convicted cannabis trafficker Kirk Roberts was ordered to give up almost $1 million in 2006. The amount represented his 50 percent share in a house and land in Sandys deemed to be the spoils of his criminal activity.