The Hodgman Liberal Government committed $350,000 in recurrent funding in the 2015 State Budget to enable Tasmania Police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to collaborate and go after the profits of crime, and an additional $92,000 has been provided to the Unit in the 2016-17 Budget.
The importance of this collaboration has been underlined today with confirmation the unexplained wealth legislation will result in more than $800,000 in cash and assets seized from criminals in Tasmania in the previous 12 months.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions’ Unexplained Wealth Unit undertakes prosecutions of cases which are investigated by the Tasmania Police Unexplained Wealth Unit.
The Crime (Confiscation of Profits) Amendment (Unexplained Wealth) Act, provides for the forfeiture of property, cash and other assets where a person is unable to prove that their unexplained wealth has been lawfully acquired.
Through the work of the ODPP and Tasmania Police, orders for the forfeiture over $820,000 in cash, assets and firearms were issued in 2015-16.
Further investigations are underway relating to assets valued at almost $2 million.
Unexplained wealth provisions are a crucial tool in the fight against serious organised crime as they have the potential to dismantle and disrupt crime and can result in the forfeiture of millions of dollars of assets from criminals.
More Media Releases from the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management