Last updated 05:28, Friday, 27 June 2008

THE balance of justice has true symmetry only when it offers the satisfaction of punishment fairly meted and recompense duly paid.

In Cumbria symmetry is presented commendably by police who seized more than £1m from criminals last year – making the force a top performer in the country and sending out a clear message to all offenders that, in this county, crime will not be allowed to pay.

The money has been clawed back from convicted offenders, drug dealers and organised crime gangs, through the efforts of the Cumbrian force’s team of financial investigators who have been making use of powers allowed in the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The aim of the legislation is to prevent offenders benefiting from their criminal activities and to deter other villains from banking on the misfortunes they deliberately create for their victims.

It makes sound legal and logical sense for no police force to allow criminals to prosper from unlawful activity. But while in many other parts of the country there has been much talk and study of the potential advantages of enforcing law to reclaim proceeds of crime, Cumbria police have moved out of the talking shops to put natural justice into action.

Criminals sent to prison for their crimes have been forced to pay financial penalties as well. Drug dealers have been stripped of their profits, preventing them from coming out of prison to savings on which they would otherwise have built renewed illegal trading networks.

Some offenders have had to sell homes and other assets to pay the price of their offending. If they fail to do so, they can spend longer terms in jail.

The success of operations in Cumbria is an example from which wider policing can benefit. It is one which could and should be followed nationwide.

Refusal to allow crime to pay meets society’s demands for respect, redress and symmetry in the balance of justice.