The government has announced plans for a British equivalent of the FBI. The National Crime Squad, the National Criminal Intelligence Service and investigative branches of Customs and the Immigration Service will become one agency to tackle organised crime.
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) will combat offences like people smuggling and drug trafficking but will not deal with terrorism or murder cases.
What do you think of the plans? Will the SOCA be effective in tackling organised crime?
This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.
The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:
 | SUGGEST A DEBATE This topic was suggested by Carl from UK:  Tony Blair to set up UK FBI to help stop drug smugglers? Is his answer to everything to spend yet more tax payers' money on yet another bureaucratic nightmare?  |
I do not think that this organised crime unit will work they will be under staffed and resourced like so many of the other government departments at present! We are slowly but surely turning into a mini America with the plans for this organisation. Surely the money spent on this could be put to better our police forces and give them the resources and power they require!
LEA, Scotland
If we are to follow anything from America let's just choose this one thing which will really cut crime in our deteriorating country: three strikes and you're out. Just remove criminals from our society, lock them up, throw away the key. They've had their chances, now give us - the citizen of this country who is striving to live a decent life - our chance. Enough's enough. And no amount of fancy T-shirts or crime agencies is needed to do this.
Karen Saunders, Wokingham, UK
While this new organisation may eventually produce some results once they've agreed who will run what. The real issue is where we will put the people who are arrested and charged. Unless the government is prepared to invest heavily in new prisons it will all become another white elephant. There isn't the room to lock up a lot of people who are charged now and sentencing is something of a joke.
Mike Crowther, Blackburn England
Crime is more organised than the agencies trying to prevent it. Until the law is changed to work with crime prevention, the agencies will always come off second. ID cards, DNA records, finger printing would all do a better job of helping the current agencies than a new centralised system. I would prefer not to carry an ID card system, but then I would also prefer not to have any crime. Crime reduces with the likelihood of Capture and punishment. I doubt that this new agency will do either.
Chris Berridge, UK
No of course and organised crime agency won't work, because the legislation is biased in favour of criminals and murderers. Our police forces are unable to stem crime, due to shortages of police officers and too much paperwork. The Crown Prosecution Service has lost the plot and fails to properly prosecute cases. Crime deserves to win the Queens Award for Industry. It's out of control.
Malcolm Davis, Kenley UK
| The SOCA is a step in the right direction |
We need a national police force, with equal standards of policing through out the country. The SOCA is a step in the right direction. However you can see that the association of chief constables will be against it on the whole. At the end of the day, there are too many individuals at the top in police forces, working as individuals, and not as a national team. This is one of the reasons that crime pays. If the SOCA is hard hitting, has the full backing of government and the public prosecutions service axed, and re-formed, in on equal terms, with SOCA then you may have a team able to deal with hardened criminals.
J Evans, UK The government have all but legalised cannabis because they say there are no resources to prosecute people who use it. Now we have billions available to set up yet another 'speciality' police unit. Makes you think, don't it??
Arthur, UK
I thought that we had an agency to control law and order. Is this another case of the Police failing?
Derek Walker, Sutton, Surrey
If the burden of proof is lowered far enough, one can always secure a conviction.
Will Lyons, London
It is unlikely that the new crime agency will make a substantial impact unless the government and authorities stop their political correct nonsense, and let the police actually do their job.
Trevor Dawson, Nelson - England
Why does Blunkett always think that if he recruits someone who is "ex-US", then all will be well? The one thing that he never considers is the resources that the US puts into things, so as to ensure that they function properly. Whereas, this government skimps-and-saves on everything! No wonder that this country is going-to-the-dogs!
Pete, London UK
Another 'eye-catching' initiative from Blair & Blunkett. We don't need a special force at all, all we need is for our existing fraud squads etc to be allowed to get on with the job without politically-correct interference from government. Isn't this what Scotland Yard was for?
Andy Howlett, England
Our police personnel will be depleted when this new body poaches them for itself. The government MUST inject money into the police forces, if they aren't to go "down-the-swanny"!
Pete, London UK
| I don't think that constant comparison with a much flawed foreign agency will help |
Having been involved in some part of SOCA's likely tasks I think it will work, building upon what has already been done by NCIS. But I'd go a bit further than James Mark, below, and say it will only do so as long as it doesn't try to be Britain's FBI. We have our own ways of approaching these things, and I don't think that constant comparison with a much flawed foreign agency will help at all. The UK is not the US; let's take some pride in our own institutions for a change.
Andrew, Croydon UK When the courts view sentencing through a sliding scale relating to the severity and details of the crime, only then will the criminals learn that justice will be served. At the moment, there is a higher sentencing rate for money crimes and crimes against property, and a very varied (and lower) sentencing rate for things like assault, rape, murder and the like. One case can have a very lenient sentence, and another can be harsh, but the merits of the cases can be very similar. It is inconsistencies like that which will make any FBI UK task force's job very hard indeed, and indeed the jobs of the police officers throughout the UK. Shake up the courts, before you shake up the task forces, otherwise it will be a fruitless and pointless waste when the criminals get to walk free after the shortest of convictions.
AM, Scotland, UK
While I wish this venture every success I just don't see it being the huge problem solver that the government is touting it as. The agency is going to end up as all the other agencies in the country are; under funded and woefully understaffed.
Richard Scott, Windsor, UK
Some of you lot are very cynical. It looks like this move will actually cut down on red tape and reduce bureaucracy merging three or four agencies together. Your laboured points about motorists are beside the point, drugs and people smuggling are real problems country wide, they are not confined to a particular Police Stations patch.
Rob, Birmingham, UK
| Perhaps also prisons should be a little less friendly |
Given the antipathy between the FBI and Local police forces, I have some reservations, but hope that it will work. Perhaps also prisons should be a little less friendly and more of a deterrent. What happened to Hard Labour sentences? they might discourage some criminals.
Nigel, Worcester Park UK Hallelujah...At last something intelligent from the is government. Lets just hope that they use the exact same tactics and technology that the criminals use to counteract the crimes. What would be a shame is if no serious money and effort was put in this serious idea. Perhaps a little less waste in funding egotistical projects like in Iraq and a little more effort in helping the people of this country have a better life.
MS, London
Doesn't Blair know why this country has a judicial burden-of-proof that is set at the level of "beyond reasonable doubt" in criminal proceedings? The reason is to protect innocent people from being convicted. This country is going down a very slippery slope, removing more age-old civil protections and civil liberties. Why doesn't he just put everyone in jail? Then his crime targets could be met, for sure. The trouble is that people's quality of life is suffering, as a result of all this government's meddling and tampering with time-honoured protections. It is so arrogant to think that it knows best!
Pete, London UK
Focusing on target areas and well trained staff is always a good idea. Twenty first century organised crime needs a twenty first century police force. The problem is that seventeenth century changes in the law will lead to miscarriages of justice.
Ossi, Bristol, UK
| People are much more concerned with crimes on their doorstep |
It will be ineffective. Why do I think that? It will be underfunded, as usual. Just look at the police service - it has no money. There is no point creating new bodies of authority and new laws if the laws cannot be enforced due to lack of manpower and funds. I suggest that the police are fixed-up, before we go any further. People are much more concerned with crimes on their doorstep. Get to grips with this, instead, Mr Blair. Yes, its harder to do but, do you want to re-elected or not?
Pete, London UK About time, but I fear we are about 10 years behind the criminals sophistication so will be playing catch up for a while yet
Damian McEnroe, Tyne and Wear
It depends upon two things outside the remit of the new force. Firstly will the Government give it the laws and backing necessary and secondly will they fund it and the Police Force properly. I imagine that laws will still be vague and woolly and as to financing I imagine that it will be partially funded by withdrawing a large amount of finance from the Police.
David Chapple, Harpenden, Herts
What we need in Britain is not yet another new agency or piece of legislation. What is needed to fight crime is for the police to be freed from red tape and political correctness. The real criminals should be targeted and not the motorists. The police should get on with enforcing existing laws more effectively by being on our streets.
Matthew Reynolds, Oxford UK
All those wishy-washy government actions. What we need is a constitution with clear separation of powers (legislative, executive, jurisdiction). And why should a Senior British Civil Service position be open to a US citizen? That is so wrong!
Alex Keel, London, UK
| A good idea in theory but recruitment could be a problem |
A good idea in theory but recruitment could be a problem. If as has already been pointed out they recruit from experienced personnel the lower ranks will suffer as the police cannot get people into the job due the very bad public image they have at the moment. Customs and police together? Got to be a bit of friction there.
Adrian M, Newcastle, UK Did I miss something or will this new "national agency" not cover Scotland or Northern Ireland so in a borderless UK all the organised gangs have to do to be out of the reach of "SOCA" is operate from these parts of the UK. What's the point of having a "national" police agency that only covers part of the country?
Jason, London, UK
The joining of related agencies that previously "competed" with each other has to be an improvement. Trying to sneak through more changes to reduce the burden of proof is however not appreciated.
David R, Plymouth UK
FBI-GB will fail because there will not be enough funding to recruit and train the best people. It will end up with "plod" being transferred into the new force with the result that "career policing" will corrupt FBI-GB and crime on the streets will be totally decriminalised.
Stephen, York, UK
I believe the new unit (SOCA) will work and be able to tackle the Organised crime mobs, but what they need is a Court of Justice that also works properly. Courts let the Police down badly when it comes to prosecutions of criminals. What is really needed is the courts to deal with the criminals properly.
Anthony Barry, Manchester Lancashire
Organised crime is important but its local crime that affects me. A new 'super-squad' may divert skills and resources from local policing, leaving local police fit for nothing more than revenue-raising from speed cameras!
James, Oxford, UK
Rather than reducing the burden of proof, what about giving undercover officers full freedom to capture these gangs? That would mean doing away with the laws on entrapment, and in some cases even granting immunity from prosecution.
John Airey, Peterborough, UK
Be ruthless but will not be up and running until 2006! How is it to be funded? We the public already pay substantial taxes for police to fight crime.
Guy Sibley, Rainham UK
We already have a police force with various special units that are already under-funded, under-motivated and soon be cherry picked of its best. What is this obsession with spending taxpayers' money.
Marc Field, Singapore ex UK Well, the new agency SOCA has got to be better than the ramshackle existing system of lots of different agencies, with varying methods working in a spirit of some cooperation. A late move forward on a very long and well established set of problems.
Peter Collins, Wiltshire
If the government can find extra money to deal with organised crime, why could it not find the money to put more police patrols on the streets? Does the amount of organised crime in this country really compare to the everyday petty crime and antisocial behaviour which eats away at the fabric of our society?
Nicholas, Cardiff, UK
It is an excellent idea, whether it will work or not is a different matter. Hopefully it will make a difference.
Anthony Rimmer, Bootle, Merseyside, UK
Blair proposes that it be made easier to convict alleged criminals by removing the burden of reasonable doubt. Yet another attack on basic democratic freedoms carried out by New Labour.
Will Jameson, Santa Cruz, California
Though retired from the UK police I am presently head of criminal investigations, including drug trafficking, in the Cayman Islands. As such I work closely with US federal organisations where there are problems caused by inter agency rivalry. Customs and police do not make natural bed fellows and I foresee that SOCA will encounter major problems in the areas of jurisdiction, jealousies and pressure on the agents from parent departments. If these matters are not ironed out the agency could go the same way as the joint Police/Customs counter Drugs Task Force of the 80s. I hope they are and that SOCA becomes a success.
Derek, George Town, Grand Cayman
I think that the SOCA will work. It is a good idea that there be an organisation that deals with drug trafficking, but I think that terrorism and murder should be included in this agency.
Corinne, Ashland, USA
The police may have a large crime base to tackle but there is a political policy to take the easy option and give undue prominence to motoring offences because good results are easier to secure. One of the largest problems the police now face is the need to be "politically correct". This does not equate to good sense and there is a need to be less sensitive in this regard. Too much weight is attached observing the "rights" of criminal offenders (as opposed to motoring offenders) but not enough to the responsibilities offenders have to the community nor the rights of those who are the victims of crime.
Ronald Peebles, Falkirk, UK
SOCA will only work if the government starts with the basics. Sort out the legal system so convicted offenders are not let out several months after being locked up. Secondly, organise the police force to operate efficiently. The government can then use this as a platform to move onto SOCA. Still very sceptical as to whether or not it will succeed...
James Anderson, Wye, Kent
It may have escaped the government's notice, but we already have an agency to tackle crime, organised or otherwise. It's known as the police force!! Rather than squeezing even more ��� out of the taxpayer, the government should be looking into ways of spending more effectively the contents of its already bulging coffers, and support the police force we already have.
Sally, Sussex, England
| All they will do is role existing crime fighting bodies into one new one |
This is just a re-badging exercise. All they will do is role existing crime fighting bodies into one new one. No extra staff, but probably at a huge cost to the tax payer. More cynical spin from Labour. To be honest, if I had to ask Blair for the right time, I'd look for a second opinion.
Tony, Rochdale The idea is a good one but like most things run by our government it will be under funded and make little impact in the long run. How about taking some of our countries million employable unemployed and put them in worthwhile well-paid jobs instead?
Hazel, UK
Great idea. But how are you going to staff it? The police forces across the country cannot recruit quality people and so are dropping standards in order to recruit. What standards of recruit will the national police require? Presumably such officers will need to be of a higher calibre. no doubt, then, they will need experience and so it follows that officers will be drawn from constabularies, who will see their experienced and quality officers headhunted, leaving them to struggle with their own investigations. It is going to bring the pains on and will not benefit ordinary members of the public at all.
Mark H, UK
Another "great" idea from the government, like the maff to defra shift. Let's rename the authority dealing with the problem and then we can ignore it. Great attitude. What I want to know is what do the police think of the idea?
Alex Flowers, Derby UK
| Working within Customs, this seems a bit of a compromise solution |
Working within Customs, this seems a bit of a compromise solution. The original idea explained by our bosses to us just two months ago was to take the whole of Customs investigation - not just the drugs parts but the tax (VAT, excise duty) parts along with the Inland Revenue's own investigation branch, the Serious Fraud Office and the FSA - to create a force that could not just investigate drugs and people smuggling but tax and City fraud as well - which is definitely a big part of organised crime. Instead we will now have SOCA and these other agencies as well. The reason we were told for not including tax fraud investigation staff - the Chancellor wants to keep Treasury control over them and in effect have his own "police force" - rather than have to go to a Home Office controlled SOCA for help.
Steven, NW England I'm so bored with hearing people moan about more "spin" and "bureaucracy". How will these people know when the government actually introduces something new and possibly very effective (gasp)?
Craig, Southampton, UK
Q. What is the role of Scotland Yard then?
Sanir Shah, London
To answer Sanir Shah's question, Scotland Yard is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police. Whilst certain units with a national remit are controlled from there e.g Special Branch, its sole responsibility is policing Greater London.
Mark H, UK
Maybe I am missing something, but what is the role of our Police force again? I had always believed that they had branches to deal with such issues. Are we really just being told a new agency will be set up then find it is just a transfer of current resources?
Fiona, Manchester, UK
This could be an excellent idea if executed properly. However, unless the powers that be recognise and resolve failures in the current law enforcement agencies, this will end up another disappointment to the law abiding public and a waste of money!
Jonathan Strutt, North East
As crime becomes more organised and less of the petty thief doing a "smash and grab" then the high street shop window, so the government needs to react in the same way by creating the new SOCA force. With organised crime these days, it is all about intelligence than the bobby on the beat (though he is still an essential part of the police force) and a force that has access to all the information has the best chance of beating the organised gangs, be it in sex slavery, drugs, immigration trafficking or child abuse. I, for one, welcome the introduction of this force and wish it well.
Paul Thompson, Devizes, UK
The problem lies not with having enough officers, but the amount of bureaucratic paperwork they have to get through! Cut this down and crime will go down as a direct result!
Matthew Hirst, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
More spin, to make it sound like something is being done. 5,000 staff, but NO new staff - just moved from other departments. Burglars are five times less likely to be caught in the UK than in the US - Australia is seven times better than the UK. What's the reason? Not the professionalism of the UK police, just their lack of numbers. Blunkett likes US style policing, what we could do with is US style police numbers and not ex-US police chiefs.
Pet Lewis, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire It is about time that the Government got more organised to combat crime. Like everything else, crime has gone global. It amazes me that so many illegal immigrants can go around the UK undetected for years - it seems like the liberal approach is being abused by these criminals.
Garth, Harare, Zimbabwe
The police should be given more powers to seize the proceeds of criminal activity and this can be used to finance the new FBI style agency.
Simon Wentworth, Sheffield, UK
I think an organised crime agency will work. I mean anything organised must surely work better than the disorganised rubbish that attempts to stop crime at the moment.
Ben, London
I think it's just a waste of money and time, there's nothing wrong with National Crime Squad and Scotland Yard. I think the government should concentrate its resources on these two units and increase the size of the national police force.
Dave, Newark England
No it will not work. It will just be yet another layer of bureaucrats filling in yet more forms. Cut present paperwork by 80% and free the police to do proper practical law enforcement and such a body would not be necessary.
Richard, Exeter
It obviously hasn't worked in the USA, why will it work here? Another shoddy idea to waste tax payers money and an ideal scapegoat for our MPs when results are not withthcoming.
John McManus, Birmingham, UK
How about reorganising the court system so that the criminals, once caught by the police or whoever, are given sensible sentences. Not just a smacked wrist and tell them to be good boys.
Ginger, UK
A great idea. But will this new organisation be an extension of the No 10 Press Office or will it genuinely serve the public in the way the public are crying out for?
Richard, Leeds, UK
What a brilliant idea, a specialised crime fighting force. This would free up many officers in C.I.D. and uniform to deal with local issues and cut crime more. But they must have their job descriptions defined and clear cut.
Peter Berry, Portsmouth UK I Feel this will be an effective force, and will result in more police officers being able to concentrate on other crimes.
PC Grist, Brighton, East Sussex
Yes very clever idea! That leaves the Police, CID, National Crime Squad free to catch speeding motorist!
Gavin R, Burton
On past form, it'll only take a decade or so for the infighting in the merged organisation to settle down...
Mike, London, UK
Ideally, what the new agency could provide is a platform for those dealing with terrorist and murder cases to concentrate wholly and more exclusively within these areas, which quite probably will leave those people involved in such work to intensify their efforts. With the likely consolidation of terrorist laws in the near future it may appropriate to have a separate department in its own right examining such issues. Confusion lies at the heart of the current system and as such much goes undetected. Such a rationalisation by merging different branches of government services would likely pool expertise and increase awareness and vigilance of such offences as drug trafficking.
Mark Dowe, UK
So what's the National Crime Squad for then? Are they just there to make the tea?
MartyG, UK
Lets face it, this country needs an FBI-like organisation more than ever. I am lucky enough to have once known two former FBI agents and I can tell you that they certainly would not have agreed that the FBI is an "over-rated police force". My two friends were involved in some very extraordinary investigations which went far beyond the jurisdiction of the regular police force. I believe the same could be true in this country and we should have an FBI organisation of our own before things get even more out of hand
Robert Heart, Colchester, Essex
| Without a massive injection of cash and manpower, the whole agency will fail |
Of course it won't work. There are not enough bobbies as it is. I worked in the Drug squad alongside customs officers and crime squad officers and we reckoned we were just scratching at the surface. We used to arrest offenders, only to see the court release them or if we did manage a conviction after months of investigations, the offenders were released within months only to begin again. Without a massive injection of cash and manpower, the whole agency will fail.
Paul (ex-British copper), Japan It should work. A national force to combat national and international crimes, but we need a fundamental reorganisation of the Regional forces as well. Regional Police Chiefs should be elected and accountable to local people. Performance would improve their jobs depended on the satisfaction of the communities which they are supposed to serve.
Richard Roberts, Potters bar
Great idea, as long as it can recruit directly, as opposed to having officers attached for a tour, as this brings the old boys network into play, and directly affects who is 'suggested' to apply. The last thing it needs is the current culture of the CID and other specialist squads that seem incapable of completing a half decent comprehensive case file, and then moaning about the courts dropping the cases. Now is the government's chance to set up a clean fresh agency to deal with a very serious problem that knows how to use informers against the police and play one unit against another let alone regional forces.
Peter Keating, Woodbridge Suffolk UK
A national crime squad will only be effective if the courts start dishing out stiffer sentences and take away the assets the criminal has gained through crime. Both are available to the courts but are rarely used and the criminal spends a few years inside, runs his business from inside and leaves after serving half his sentence to go back to his luxurious life style and carry on before.
john, France
| I see the Blunkett PR machine is still running at full spin |
Another day, another Home Office Press Release. I see the Blunkett PR machine is still running at full spin. If he spent as much time enforcing current laws as he did thinking up new "groundbreaking initiatives" the country would be a much safer and far less lawless place. We don't need another agency with more paper shufflers, a big budget and an expensive pretty new logo. We need more police officers working to enforce the current laws, with less political interference and daily new ideas from Whitehall.
John R Smith, UK So the plan is to create another office that government can then blame when things go wrong? Renaming departments isn't a fix, spin isn't going to combat criminals. Additional funding for this will come from where? The resources removed from the police service and other areas are to be replaced how ? I can't wait to see who will front the X-files department !
Stuart, London
Merging assets for serious crimes and crimes that cover the nation as opposed to a region should help deal with crime. But why are we doing our usual half hearted attempt at something new. Surely Terrorism and Murder can cross policing borders just like smuggling and drug trafficking. And in most peoples eyes are important crimes so why are these not being included in the National Crime Squads remit? It must be this governments motto, "If it's worth doing then lets do it half heartedly".
David Bell, Birmingham UK
It's a good idea. The world has changed and now we need to change too. Co-ordination of our agencies is vital to meet the new nature of threats we now face.
lee b, Eastbourne, UK
Crime crosses borders, and involves pan-national and international issues. If the intention is that by bringing together existing agencies, response and consistency is improved, then this is to be cautiously welcomed. With the Police Reform consultation process, the increasing emphasis placed on regionalisation hints at the creation of a national police service. This does concern me as effective community safety requires some local input and ownership and it is difficult to see how that would be modelled appropriately.
Martin B-K, Brighton, UK
Another pathetic government attempt to close the gate after the horse has bolted. This government cannot tackle vandalism and yobbish youths let alone organised crime. Get more bobbies on the beat!
George Mitchell, St Neots, UK
Brave move on part of the Government. We do need to have a more co-ordinated approach to organised crime as the current regional model of policing too often is fragmented. Despite the recent furore over intelligence it has proved to work with our near neighbours, the Dutch. Let's just hope the new leader appointed has the courage, experience and expertise to harness the formidable "machine" if the making.
John Nairn, Brookmans Park, UK So, we already have agencies whose job it is to investigate crime, now we're just putting them under one roof. Hardly radical.
Wendy, UK
Of course it will work. The FBI always get their man. Like Osama Bin Laden...
Glenn Herbert, Matlock
This is long overdue but financial investigation should be at the forefront of this new organisation.
Jacqui Nicholson, London
| If what we have isn't stopping them, what makes us think that a new team in the same mould as the existing ones will work? |
A lot of the crime that will be targeted by this new team is crime which comes over our borders. Surely it would be better to invest in UK Customs Officers and infrastructure at UK Ports than deal with problems after the fact? We cannot go on allowing criminals to run huge businesses (drugs, slavery) whilst we just tinker with a failing system. If what we have isn't stopping them, what makes us think that a new team in the same mould as the existing ones will work?
Roger, Whitwick, England Let's create a new anti-crime organisation whereby we spend an absolute fortune moving a pile of people to new offices to do essentially the same job they were doing anyway. At the same time making it more complicated for customs and excise and the crime squad and the other agencies involved to investigate their own cases. Another fantastic new labour plan nothing changes (for the better anyway) and it can be spun as a drastic re-organisation to tackle crime (which it won't).
Richie, Edinburgh, UK
Why not legalise all drugs? Have state-run dispensaries. At one feel swoop this will stop the vast majority of organised crime...
Stan Marsh, London, UK
This is fabulous news. Now we can put the rest of the police force on the roads to harass the motorists.
Bob, UK
This is empty spin. Let's make a real difference by legalising all drugs. It would remove the funding for organised crime at a stroke and allow us to treat the real causes of crime.
Dan, London
Why does this government have to copy everything the Americans do? The FBI does not work so why should a British version work? Drugs and crime are still a real problem in the US so perhaps an effort to prevent the causes of crime should be dealt with (e.g. poverty, addiction and poor quality of life).
Andy, UK
Sounds a good idea to me, as long as the politicians can keep their grubby little paws off it. A "National Crime Squad" should be able to provide more resources than the smaller, individual agencies can.
But the proof of the pudding will be in the eating!
Joe, Scotland
Excellent idea! Use the experience of other countries! Don't forget however that changes to police without changes to our Court System will only have minimal effect! Sentences should also be based on the US System!
Peter Gopfert, London
Scotland already has a similar system, the SDEA (Scottish drugs enforcment agency). This organisation is designed to combat organized and drug related crime.
Adam, UK
| The police are simply overwhelmed by the level of crime |
I have no faith in the governments ability to control crime. Just do a search on the BBC web site for "crime initiative" and look at the quantity of results. This is just more politics and spin. The truth is that nothing will make much of a difference without radical changes to funding and or policy. The police are simply overwhelmed by the level of crime.
Sean, Burnley, UK A new crime agency is a great idea providing that it isn't under funded and the sentences are a lot stronger. As where there is the possibility of making money there is crime. Give them power and keep the non-people management out of it.
David Atkinson, Portsmouth
Will it work? - It depends what we mean by work. I have no doubt that the agency will have some successful arrests, but I doubt that they will be able to stem the tide of drug, gun and people smuggling. Without massive extra funding, and a perhaps a doubling of the current policing effort, there is no way that Joe Public will see any real difference in the level of crime. Even then it would take years.
Sean, Burnley UK
Are there any other options apart from doing nothing.
Neil Brown, Aberdeen, Scotland
It will continue to works just as it does right now. This is just a rebranding of existing departments. Window dressing for good government publicity.
Garry, Bury, England
Could this be another American idea heading to this side of the pond? Maybe so, but it could improve the way crime is tackled. It would lift a lot work for people and put a load on others. This will also mean that policing would be more efficient and more affective within the community.
Thomas Stansfield, Leeds, England
At last a co-ordinated force to tackle the scourge of parking offenders and speeding motorists. Real criminals can breath a sigh of relief and get on with the business of committing real crime.
Ian Knowles, Loughborough, England
It all depends on whether the new team adopt the US FBI style of working. It is a sad fact that as new levels of policing appear, the criminal organisations develop stronger defences, including types of arms. A larger volume of automatic and semi automatic weapons. Will this group work in an intelligent fashion or will they be gung ho? Given our policy of copying the US at present, this remains to be seen.
James Mark, UK
What does the government do when faced with a problem? It just rebrands and spins. Our police forces are already effective, the problem is that judges won't punish offenders and they're back on the streets within days carrying on as before. The government attacks organized crime with one hand, and decriminalizes drugs with the other, sending out a mixed message. If the government is serious about crime, it will replace all the old judges with ones directly elected by the people.
Guy Hammond, London, England
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