SOCA the UK's FBI ?

The Police Act 1997 established the National Criminal Intelligence Service NCIS and set out its functions.

On 9th February, 2004 the government announced its intention to create, by 2006, a Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) that will incorporate NCIS, the National Crime Squad and elements of HM Customs and Excise and the UK Immigration Service.David Blunkett the philandering Home Office Minister produced a White Paper, 'One Step Ahead: A 21st Century Strategy to Defeat Organised Criminals' (29 March 2004) which contained further details about the proposed Serious Organised Crime Agency.

At the time the Home Secretary said ...

"Modern crime bosses are sophisticated, organised and determined. No group of defendants is more adept at exploiting our legal safeguards for their own ends. The strategy I am setting out will reduce the harm organised crime causes on our streets and make the UK one of the most difficult environments in the world for organised criminals to operate."

The MI 5 website gives more detail about the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS), the National Crime Squad (NCS), the investigative and intelligence work of HM Revenue and Customs on serious drug trafficking and the recovery of related criminal assets, and the Home Office's responsibilities for dealing with organised immigration crime.


Serious Organised Crime Agency

The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 came into force on 11 April 2005. A Home Office press release summarises the main provisions of the Act, which establishes SOCA and sets out its constitution, functions, general powers and its relationship with Ministers.

SOCA became operational on 3 April 2006. MI 5 has a close working relationship with the new Agency, which is headed by a former Director General of the Security Service, Sir Stephen Lander. who joined the Secret Services in 1975 and became Director General in 1996, serving in that capacity until his retirement from the Service in 2002.(see pic(C) MI5)

The agency is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by, but operationally independent from, the Home Office. It is funded by central government, with a provisional budget for 2006/7 of £457m, of which £416m funds on-going resources and £41m is capital investment. It has around 5,000 officers, who co-operate closely with the police, intelligence agencies, the Assets Recovery Agency, HM Revenue and Customs, foreign police forces and others. It has ben likened to the nationwide Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US.

It is led by a Board with 11 members. The non-executive Chair of the Board, responsible for the overall approach of SOCA, is Sir Stephen Lander. The other non-executive members of the Board are

Stephen Barrett,International Chair, Corporate
Finance at KPMG;

Elizabeth France is the Telecommunications
Ombudsman, and was formerly the Information
Commissioner;

Ken Jarrold is former Chief Executive of County
Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority
and also former Chair of the Drugs Action Team for Durham

Janet Paraskeva, is a strong advocate for gay and lesbian rights in the United Kingdom. She intends to take advantage of the Civil Partnerships Act to 'marry' her partner of more than a decade, whom she will only refer to as 'Mary'. She prefers not to give Mary's surname and will only say that 'she works in education'. Paraskeva has two children from a previous marriage.

She was appointed as the First Civil Service Commissioner on January 1, 2006.

On February 2006 Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell appointed Janet Paraskeva as head of the new Olympic Lottery Distributor (OLD), to serve in a four year term
General Sir Roger Wheeler.

General Sir Roger Wheeler , Knight Grand Cross of the Bath , CBE was Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, between 1997 and 2000. Sir Roger is the current 'Constable of the Tower of London'. He is also a Non-Executive Director in Aegis Defence Services headed by the controversial soldier of fortune, Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Spicer OBE. Aegis are curently recipients of a major security contract (£350 Mn (ish)) in Iraq and are undertaking an internal enquiry into a video allegedly showing the shooting up of civilian vehicles by their staff - which hasn't yet reported.(D Telegraph story 27/11/2005)

Day-to-day leadership is provided by the Director General, Bill Hughes, who is able to designate SOCA officers as having the powers of a police constable, a customs officer, or an immigration officer. The other executive members of the board are David Bolt, Malcolm Cornberg, Paul Evans and Trevor Pearce.

Bill Hughes was formerly Director General of the National Crime Squad, until its merger with SOCA.

He began his career in the police force with the Thames Valley Police in 1975, rising to become Assistant Chief Constable in the West Yorkshire Police, then Deputy Chief Constable with the Hertfordshire Constabulary. He joined the National Crime Squad in 2000.

He is the UK Head of Delegation at European Police Chiefs Task Force and Chairman of the G8 Lyon Group on law enforcement.

The Board has decided that around 40% of its effort should be devoted to combatting drug trafficking, 25% to tackling organised immigration crime, around 10% to fraud, 15% on other organised crime and the remaining 10% on supporting other law enforcement agencies. (effectively the same as NICS)

The Terrorism Act 2006, the Identity Cards Act and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act all received royal assent on March 30th, becoming law.More details at Home Office website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news/new-acts

Home Secretary Charles Clarke is quoted on the site saying ......

'I am extremely pleased that three crucial pieces of legislation for my department have today reached the statute books. I have always made clear that there is a balance to be struck between the rights and freedoms of individuals and the security of all our citizens.

'This new legislation together will allow us to uphold our democratic right to freedom of speech and to free movement within the United Kingdom, as well as encouraging managed migration which will benefit the UK economy. At the same time, it will strengthen our ability to keep our borders secure, tackle illegal working and to go about our day to day business safely and secure in the knowledge that people are who they say they are.'

(The Home Office Website is (suprisingly in view of the above approved by the Plain English Campaign)

See also Soca Annual plan 2006/7 (PDF Alert)