THE FAMILY PARTY

Mistake to merge SFO with Organised Crime

10 July 08 | Family Party Leader Richard Lewis says the Serious Fraud Office should remain separate from a new Organised Crime Agency being set up to combat gangs and organised crime.

Government announced last September that it was establishing a new organised crime agency within the police that would absorb the SFO. It was subsequently named the Organised and Financial Crime Agency.

"We're talking primarily about two very different fields of investigation that both require their own unique skills-sets, powers and expertise. The idea of combining the two might sound valid at first but it's based on political motives rather than the practical realities of fighting crime. Leave the SFO alone and set up the new Organised Crime Agency, which is well overdue," said Mr Lewis.

He described the move as similar to that of the 1992 merger between Traffic and Police, when two very different styles and philosophies of law enforcement came together and created huge problems for police and traffic staff trying to fulfill roles they weren't interested in or trained for.

"The Government has to stop creating policies and making decisions without understanding the impact and realities for people who have been doing, and will have to do the work. MP's ought to heed the advice of former SFO director David Bradshaw who wants the SFO to remain separate," he added.

ENDS

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