Law and order agencies are missing opportunities "every single day" to seize the assets of criminals, an official report has found.

The warning came in a joint report published by Stella Dixon, HM chief inspector of the Magistrates Court Service, Crown Prosecution Service chief inspector Stephen Wooler and Sir Keith Povey, the chief inspector of constabulary.

Their study examined the implementation of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), which allows the courts to order the confiscation of assets earned as a result of criminal activities.

"It might be considered churlish to criticise deficiencies in implementing a still relatively new piece of legislation, but the issues at stake are so important that a warning bell needs to be sounded," said the report.

"Every single day opportunities to seize cash, begin the process of asset recovery or bring people to book for money laundering offences are being missed.

"Money and criminals are slipping through the net and confidence in the criminal justice system is eroded whenever that happens.

"So this report is intended to be a 'wake up' call, for all of the agencies involved but most particularly for police forces."

The emphasis was put on police bodies to make greater use of the powers, though other agencies were also urged to raise awareness about the powers set out in the Act.

Mixed results

According to the watchdogs, the amounts of cash seized in 2003 ranged from £13,000 in one force to over £7 million in another, while 75 per cent of all prosecutions for money laundering were initiated by just six police forces.

"While a number of high profile cases have proven the value of the new powers, as heads of criminal justice inspectorates, we were disappointed to find that, by early 2004, use of the powers appeared patchy and evidence of co-ordinated prioritisation of asset recovery across the criminal justice partners was scarce," said the authors.

"Our report confirms that, while there are pockets of excellent practice, many opportunities for asset recovery are being routinely missed.

"There is a widespread lack of awareness amongst practitioners of the powers; strategic leaders need to take a personal role in championing the cause and integrating the use of these powers into mainstream agency business."

There was a warning that "the actual provisions of the Act remain a mystery to many at executive level within criminal justice agencies, and in particular within the police".

And the Home Office also came in for some implied criticism, with the report taking a swipe at the number of central government targets being set for police forces.

"Chief officers will quite legitimately argue that they risk being overwhelmed by national and local priorities, and that when everything is a priority then nothing is."

Report welcomed

Home Office minister Caroline Flint said the report showed the new powers were "a powerful tool in the fight against crime and must not be underestimated".

But she accepted that "there is more that can be done".

David Blunkett, the home secretary, has now written to chief constables "encouraging them to take up the report's recommendations".

"We know that the POCA legislation is taking a hold in the fight against serious and organised crime," added Flint.

"Seizing illegal assets makes crime a much less appealing career path, whilst ensuring that criminal cash is ploughed back into police forces to ensure that even more criminals are caught and convicted."