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Officials estimate that there are 38,000 organised criminals active in Britain working in 6,000 groups A record £161m worth of assets, including sports cars, watches, diamond earrings, designer clothing and fine china was recovered from criminals in Britain last year. The Home Office disclosed the figure, the highest since the introduction of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, as ministers prepared to publish their new strategy to tackle organised crime. They said a further £49m of assets was returned to victims, while £831m of cash and ill-gotten gains such as seized illicit drugs were denied to criminals during 2010-11. It is officially estimated that there are 38,000 organised criminals active in Britain working in 6,000 groups involved in the drugs trade, human trafficking, child exploitation and cybercrime as well as more traditional areas such as armed robbery and organised vehicle theft. Ministers have complained that too many of them regard themselves as “untouchables”. It is also estimated that organised crime costs the UK £20-£40bn a year in social and economic costs. The organised crime strategy, to be published on Thursday, promises to make a difference by “ensuring a co-ordinated national approach across government, law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies”. It will also pave the way for the establishment in 2013 of the National Crime Agency (NCA), which will set the “national operational agenda” for fighting serious and complex crime. The NCA will for the first time have the power to direct other police forces and law enforcement agencies in ensuring that appropriate action is taken at the right level against organised crime. It will have the power to link local to national and cross-border efforts to tackle organised crime. The agency has already suffered an early setback, however, in that the senior chief constable, Bernard Hogan-Howe, who was frontrunner for the head of the shadow NCA to be set up this year, has already been drafted in as temporary deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police in the aftermath of Sir Paul Stephenson’s resignation. “Organised crime has a local impact but a global reach. To tackle it effectively we need a strategic, co-ordinated response at every level from community policing through to international partnership,” said Home Office minister James Brokenshire. “The organised crime strategy will bring a new emphasis on the prevention of organised crime alongside a greater push to ensure that more prosecution and disruption activity takes place against more organised criminals, at a reduced cost,” said Brokenshire. “This, alongside the launch of the new National Crime Agency, means that we will ensure that those who commit serious and organised crime are tracked down, pursued, brought to justice and their ill-gotten gains are stripped away.” Crime Police Alan Travis guardian.co.uk